Forbidden Fruit
by Hiroakki
Summary: I am a Dark Ankelon, frowned upon by other Ankelons. To "cure" me, the principal sends me to Alfea, the fairy school, to get immersed in their "low level light magic". If you ask me, I'm just happy to be away from these snobbish Ankelons.
1. Rule of the Ankelons

**My first Winx Club fanfic! It brings me back to my childhood XD**

 **I thought I would give this fandom a chance, but I don't know how many people will actually read this...**

 **If there's at least one person who's enjoying it, then I'll make it part of my regular fanfics!**

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Chapter 1: Rule of the Ankelons

Ankelons… Majestic magical creatures who possess both dark and light magic. When they transform, they grow angel wings, which are both black and white. Their outfits are either stylish black and white dresses, for females, or attractive black and white suits, for males. Every Ankelon has a unique combination of both black and white. Some have a more dominant colour, which symbolizes their stronger affinity towards either dark or light magic. At least, that's how it's supposed to be. Some Ankelons, in very rare cases, only possess one colour, therefore, one magical affinity. There are the Light Ankelons, who are only capable of performing light magic, but in are much more powerful at it than regular Ankelons. White Ankelons are looked upon as a blessing. They can only give and bless, but they cannot destroy or curse. The opposite also exists. Dark Ankelons are the other type of special Ankelons. They can only learn dark magic, making them much more powerful in it than any other Ankelon. However, unlike White Ankelons, Dark Ankelons are frowned upon. They are viewed as a curse, since their magic is only used for destruction.

It's not like Dark Ankelons choose to be dark… They're just born like that. I never asked to be a curse among the Ankelons. Even my own parents shun me. Everything about my transformation screams dark magic. My wings are pitch black, my short sleeveless dress is really black… Even without transforming, my hair is black, as well as my eye colour. Apparently, when I was born, my parents noticed the dark magic within me, so they called me Onyx. Isn't that convenient…

Like any good Ankelon parents, they sent me away to Ankelon school, located in Magix, to "correct" me. The Ankelon school, called Infinite Castle, is located in the centre of the other three major magic schools: Alfea, Cloud Tower, and Red Fountain. Since Ankelons control the opposite magics, they've been placed in the middle as the more powerful creatures that shouldn't be messed with. This kept the students of the others schools from messing with each other. Or at least, that's what the location of the Ankelon school was intended for. The Ankelons have this bad habit of thinking that they are superior to all other magical creature. Due to that, they don't really bother meddling with "commoners".

In any case, here I am, in front of Infinite Castle's principal, a tall lean man with white and greyish black hair. His affinity probably leans more towards light magic.

"So you are Onyx, the problem Ankelon."

I sigh. Why does everyone have to address me as though I'm nothing more than a failure? I'm only sixteen and I already feel like my life is over!

"Yes, principal Anakoni. I am Onyx."

"I heard that your parents are very distressed about your situation… It was the right decision for them to send you here. We'll do everything in our power to give you some worth. Now, to see what we're dealing with, I'll need to see your transformation."

I sigh again. He's just hammering my self-esteem right in the ground. The only reason why I haven't completely given up on life is because of how powerful I am in dark magic. I actually pride myself in how strong my spells are. I know I am one of the best at it and that's what really keeps me going.

"Alright, here goes… By the power of light and darkness, transform!"

I feel myself enveloped in the usual pitch black sphere. Other Ankelons have a "brighter" transformation, if I must say. My black wings emerge from my back, and I get enveloped in a black sleeveless fitted dress that has its bust looking like a corset. Everything is black except for my skin that is extremely pale, contrasting with everything else.

Principal Anakoni looks at me with a troubled face.

"Hm… This is worse than I imagined. There isn't even a speck of white magic within you. You're like the ultimate curse. It seems like we'll have to take some drastic measures for this… You can transform back, for now. I'll make a few calls and tell you of the final decision. Until then, make sure you don't touch or talk to any of the other students. We don't want them getting cursed now."

"Yes sir…"

I can't believe the nerve of these people… It makes me feel ashamed to be an Ankelon. They have way too much pride… I guess it comes with the history and the power. As I walk around the school, I can see everyone acting friendly with each other. Unlike the other magical schools around this one, Infinite Castle is a mixed school. Not that it really matters, since I don't think any Ankelon, whether it's female or male, will ever approach me.

What did the principal mean by drastic measures, anyway? Are they going to do purification rituals on me? Don't these require sacrifices or something? No, no, Onyx, you read too many occult books for your own good. I just can't help but be interested in any form of dark magic.

I walk up to a fountain located in the middle of the school yard. I sit at the edge of it, waiting to be called by the principal.

I notice that no one else dares come and sit at the fountain now. They probably all know about me. Just as I was deep in thought, I find myself in the principal's office again. He must've summoned me using his magic. I barely noticed it, since it wasn't dark magic.

"We've reached a consensus. To make you learn white magic, we'll have to immerse you in it. Do you know of Alfea?"

"The fairy school?"

"Yes, that fairy school. I think it would be befitting of you to go learn their low level light magic to get you started on the right path."

"So, I'm getting transferred?"

"Yes, I called Faragonda, the headmistress of that school, and registered you for the next semester, which will be starting tomorrow. Pack your stuff as soon as you can and get going."

"Alright, sir."

Well, any place is better than here, if you ask me. To Alfea we go!

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	2. Alfea, School for Fairies

**Thank you so much for all the encouragement! I never thought that people would actually read this :D**

 **I'm happy there are Winx fans out there who still enjoy reading a fanfic based on the show!**

 **This chapter, we're meeting some fairies!**

 **I hope you enjoy it!**

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Chapter 2: Alfea, School for Fairies

I arrive in front of the Alfea gate. This school is all pink. It's very pretty, I must say. Infinite Castle is more majestic though, since it's made entirely of different crystals. It reminds me of my home planet. I gotta say, the light becomes pretty blinding when you look at it…

Anyway, I should hurry up and get in, since I need to report that I'm here. I see a lot of fairies making their way in. As I try to go through the gate, something knocks me back. What's that about…? I look around me and spot a few fairies looking at me weirdly. I hear a few of them talking.

"…Why did that happen? Is it going to happen to me too? Stella, maybe it's not a good idea to…"

"What are you saying? Nothing like that ever happens to fairies!"

Great… It's the only the first day and I'm already making a spectacle of myself. I turn my head towards two people who were talking. One of them is a girl with long orange hair and blue eyes, looking all worried. The other one, much more confident-looking, has long bright blond hair and honey eyes. They notice me looking at them. The red-head comes to me with a look of concern on her face. She gives me a hand and helps me up.

"Are you alright there?"

"Um… Yeah, I'm fine."

I always feel a little awkward talking to light creatures. It makes me feel like they have when I never can have. They're accepted and loved. Even though I keep telling myself that I'm powerful and that I shouldn't feel like they're superior in any way… I still feel like I'm somewhat inferior to them. My whole life my own specie kept telling me that.

"My name is Bloo…"

"Her name is Varanda! Princess of Callisto!"

The girl called Stella intervenes. That's weird… That Varanda girl can't even remember her own name?

"Nice to meet you. My name is Onyx."

"Oh that name suits you! I mean look how pretty your eyes are! They really remind me of an onyx gem. Oh, how rude of me! My name is Stella, princess of Solaria."

It's the first time anyone compliments my name… Even my eyes! I genuinely smile at Stella's compliment.

"Thank you so much. So both of you are princesses?"

"Well…"

Varanda tries to speak up, but Stella interrupts her again.

"Yes! We BOTH are!"

Stella stresses her word when she says 'both'. Something weird is going on… I'm probably just imagining things. I heard that a lot of princesses attend Alfea. I've never met a princess before, well, none that I know of. There are no Ankelon royalty, as far as I know. Ankelons are guardians. They make sure that no major conflicts erupt. For the ones that less powerful, they are put in charge of guarding royalty or overseeing major institutions. After going through a test, Ankelons are placed in a certain level according to their strengths. Then, they are hired by people who have enough money to hire them. Of course, I heard that Dark Ankelons are only hired by witches or other dark creatures, while everyone else works for "the good causes". Since every Ankelon ends up being pit against my kind, Dark Ankelons always end up killed or imprisoned. Most Dark Ankelons have a lot of hate towards their kind, so they happily accept to be hired to work against them. Personally, I'm still a little young to think of what's going to happen when I graduate, but… I'd probably do the same thing as the other Dark Ankelons. I do hate my kind to some extent. That hate only intensifies with time.

"So, where are you from, Onyx?"

"Oh, I'm from the planet Dersus."

"That shiny planet that's filled with all sorts of gems?"

I nod. Stella seems to know her planets well. I guess it's a must if you're a princess. She also looks very excited about that world. It's probably because of the gems.

"Anyway, why aren't you able to get through?"

Varanda finally speaks up. This time, she's not interrupted by Stella.

"I don't really know."

Probably because I don't have a single drop of light magic within me…

"You know what? Wait here. Bloo… I mean, Varanda and I will go notify someone about this."

"Alright, thank you very much."

I stand there and watch them go in the school without any trouble. From the distance, I see them talking to a tall thin woman, who seems to be wearing glasses. She checks her list after talking to them, then follows them to where I am. The closer she comes, the stricter she looks. Is that their headmistress? I thought all fairies were supposed to be friendly looking, fun loving creatures. She looks anything but friendly. Short straight brown hair, a sharp hairstyle, sharp glasses to match, and a blue sailor-like outfit that covers her from neck to toe complete her overall strict impression.

"I am Griselda, Head of Discipline here at Alfea. Stella and Varanda told me about your little… issue with the door. May I have your name?"

She spoke in a very serious, almost impatient tone. So she isn't the headmistress.

"My name is Onyx."

She then looks at her list.

"Onyx… Let's see here… Ah! The Dark Ankelon, right? Well that explains why you can't get through. You don't have any light powers. You transferred here yesterday, correct?"

Everyone around me who heard what Griselda said looks at me in surprise. Stella also looks at me with a stupefied face. Varanda, on the other hand, just looks confused.

"That's right."

I answer Griselda who then makes an opening in the magical barrier to let me through. She then hands me a pendant.

"Here, this is fairy pendant that'll allow you to go through the barrier more freely from now on. Make sure you don't lose it."

After she leaves, Stella and Varanda join me.

"You're an Ankelon?! Wow, you sure don't seem like one. I always imagined Ankelon to be all proud and snobby."

Stella says in a loud voice.

"Well, you're not wrong about that…"

She really isn't… Most Ankelons are like that.

"What are you doing here, anyway? Aren't you supposed to attend at Infinite Castle?"

"Yeah, well, it's a bit complicated. You see, I'm a Dark Ankelon."

"What's that mean?"

Stella doesn't seem to know what goes on behind the scenes. I tell Varanda and Stella the whole story about why I'm here and they look at me with sad faces.

"How can anyone be so cruel? They should accept you for who you are!"

Veranda says while taking my hand in both of hers. Stella then take my other hand in both of hers as well.

"Don't worry, Onyx, I'm sure you'll love attending class here much more than back there!"

Their kindness and honesty makes me smile. That's probably why everyone says that fairies are some of the nicest creatures in the magical dimension.

"Thanks… both of you…"

I feel tears stinging my eyes. I've never felt so accepted before. I was scared that they might be afraid of getting close to me if they knew what I really was. I'm so glad it didn't go the way I imagined it would. Maybe this is the start of something far better than what I had first anticipated.

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	3. Welcome!

**Here's the 3rd chapter, finally XD**

 **I'm really happy by all the attention this story is getting! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :D**

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Chapter 3: Welcome!

We all gather in front of Griselda along with all the other fairies to listen to her lecture about conduct.

"This school will be your home for the next few years, but this home can cease to be yours at any moment. There are rules that you must abide by. You are not here to play around, but to learn and receive proper discipline as fairies. If you disregard those rules. I'll personally, and gladly, escort you to the front gate! You may not use your powers in the hallways or other common areas. In fact, the only place you can use your magic is under your teachers' supervision."

This is very similar to Infinite Castle's rules. I think it's like that for all magic educational institutions. Griselda then points at Stella in an accusatory manner.

"Is that clear, Princess Stella?! Thanks to your antics, the potion laboratory will not be functional for at least another month! Now, I think you know what to not do if you want to keep your place in this school."

Stella tries to act nonchalantly at Griselda's accusations. I can't help but giggle a bit. Varanda, on the other hand, seems genuinely surprised by that.

"You did that…?"

"So what? My dad is paying for all the damages anyway."

"That sounds like something I did before."

Stella looks at me and smiles brightly.

"Right? See? I'm not the only one!"

That's only because all my magic only destroys. But I won't tell her that, since it'll probably ruin her good mood. I then hear everyone starting to whisper while pointing behind Griselda. I look at that direction and see a leprechaun, an elf, and two older fairies coming our way. Could they be the teachers? The leprechaun looks like every other leprechaun I've seen. Short, yellowish skin, and green and yellow clothes complete his look. I have personally never seen an elf before, except on TV, but this one looks just like most elves before their metamorphosis. They're hydrogenous and have pointy ears. If I didn't know any better, I'd probably mistake him for a girl. Luckily, I know my magical creatures pretty well, since it's something that's required of every Ankelon. The two fairies look much older than the students and have a very welcoming air to them. The fairy in the middle, much more authoritative looking than the other three, starts talking.

"Sorry I'm late; I hope you'll excuse me."

Griselda doesn't miss a second to introduce her.

"Ladies, here comes your headmistress, attention."

The headmistress smiles.

"Really, there's no need to be so strict, Griselda. I hope Miss Griselda hasn't frightened you too much."

I've seen worse… At least Griselda is genuinely trying to make us better people. So this is Faragonda. She certainly lives up to her reputation as being a very kind person. I can already feel all the positive energy emanating from her.

"Welcome to Alfea, the best fairy school in Magix. Well, it is also the only one. Come on in, girls."

We then all follow her inside. As she walks and shows us around, she keeps talking about the school's philosophy.

"Becoming a fairy is a lot of work, but I know that everyone here can do it…"

For the rest of that, I pretty much zone out. It's not really a speech prepared for me anyway, since I'm not a fairy. At some point in the speech, Stella says something while imitating Faragonda.

"Stay away from the witches of Cloud Tower', that's what she's about to say."

Truly enough, Faragonda says the exact same thing. The witches don't really represent that big of a threat to me, but I guess some of them are a bit unpleasant to be around.

"Alright girls, go find your rooms and get to know your roommates. I'll see you all later."

Just as I was about to leave with the rest of the fairies, Faragonda stops me.

"And you must be Onyx, right?"

I nod.

"Yes, that's me."

Faragonda gives me a warm smile. I can't help but smiling back at her.

"Anakoni told me that you were… special."

"I'm sure he didn't use such kind words…"

She puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Oh, it doesn't matter what he said. What matters is that you're here now. Follow me to my office, I'll brief you through how things work around here."

I follow Faragonda to her office, along with the other teachers.

"Have a seat, dear."

I sit down on the chair facing her desk, while she sits down on the one behind the desk.

"Onyx, I would like to introduce you to your teachers."

The leprechaun comes forth.

"Hi there! I'm Wizgiz. I specialize in the art of Metamorphosimbiosis. This is going to be the first time I have a student who's not a fairy, but I'm sure you'll do great!"

Well, I know that I can only transform into my winged self… I'm not sure about the rest, though. I smile at professor Wizgiz and introduce myself as well. The elf then comes forth and introduces himself as well.

"My name is Palladium. I teach fairies how to tune in with nature. I also teach Potionology, as well as casting charms. If you need any extra help in those areas, don't hesitate to come find me. I'd be glad to help."

"Nice to meet you."

I'm pretty sure his classes will cause me the most problems. I can make potions, but charms are totally impossible. Nature and I never really got along either… All animals and moving plants tend to want to run away from me.

The other old fairy, wearing a large red hat, proceeds to introduce herself as well.

"I am professor DuFour. I teach etiquette, as well as various magic spells."

Faragonda then proceeds to explain a few things about the school and that I will be treated like the fairies here.

"Of course, we will be very lenient when it comes to any difficulties you have with our magic. I am sure all our professors will be more than happy to help you out. Now, as for your room, it's a last minute assignment, since we were notified of your arrival here only a few days ago. Since Stella is the only one without a roommate, by special request, we had no other choice but to put you there with her. Your name is already on the door, so she must know by now that she won't have the luxury of having a room to herself anymore. I'm sure you'll be able to get along. I hope you gain something from your education in Alfea."

With that, I get up, thank everyone, and leave the office. I then head to the dorm area, following the directions Faragonda gave me.

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	4. A Positive Darkness

**I finally finished writing this chapter! I hope you guys enjoy :D**

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Chapter 4: A Positive Darkness

When I reach the dorm, I find my name written on the door along with Stella, Varanda, and a few other names. So, there must be several rooms in the dorm. I open the door and find all of the fairies standing around and introducing themselves to each other. They then all stop talking when I come in and turn their gaze towards me. I smile and wave shyly at them.

"Onyx! You're finally here! When I heard that I was going to have a roommate, I was about to complain to Faragonda, but then I saw that it was you, so I don't mind as much."

A girl with dark blue hair and pigtails steps up.

"Hey! So you're our final roomy! Nice to meet ya, the name's Musa from Melody, also known as the Harmonic Nebula."

"Nice to meet you too."

I shake her hand. Then another fairy who has light brown hair with blonde highlights in her bangs smiles sweetly at me.

"I'm Flora from the planet Linphea. It's nice to meet you."

"Oh the planet of nature?"

"That's right!"

I've always had a bit of trouble when it came to nature. I don't dislike it, but I just can't tune with it… ever. Maybe Flora would be a good help.

The last fairy has short hot pink hair. She takes out a device, probably one that she made, and she looks at it.

"Onyx… A Dark Ankelon from the planet Dersus."

"That's right. You have my information in there?"

"I have information on almost every student here. My name is Tecna. I'm from the planet Zenith."

Yup, that explains it. It's a pretty handy device she got there.

"You're an Ankelon?"

Musa looks surprised to hear that.

"I've never met an Ankelon in my life. I mean, I did feel that you weren't a fairy."

Flora then takes her turn to ask me questions.

"How come you're in Alfea? Aren't you supposed to be attending at Infinite Castle?"

"Well, since I'm a Dark Ankelon, they wanted me to be "immersed" in light magic, hoping that it'd "cure" me."

I say that with that sarcastic tone. I really don't think it'll work, but I do rather be here than around Ankelons.

"Girls! How about we go to Magix city? My wardrobe needs a major makeover for the new semester."

We all enthusiastically agree to Stella's idea, except for Varanda.

"Magix city?"

"You never went?"

I say while looking at Varanda, pretty surprised that she doesn't know the place.

"Um… Well… I've never been outside of my realm before…"

"And that's why we're here! We're going to show you everything that you need to see."

Stella puts an arm around Varanda's shoulder in a friendly manner. We all then get ready and head downtown.

Arriving there, Varanda is in awe, I don't really know at what though. Magix is indeed one of the most fashionable cities, but it doesn't have anything uncommon to it. What's even weirder, is that both her and Stella keep whispering things to each other. Is she just shy? I still can't help but feel like she's hiding something.

We go around several shops. Then, we go to a cafe and relax for a bit. Varanda then takes a device out of her pocket.

"I wonder why I haven't been getting any signals on my phone since I arrived here."

That's a phone? Is it a special model from Callisto?

"Give it here."

Varanda hands it to Tecna who looks at it and laughs.

"This is ancient!"

She then opens it up.

"I don't think this kind of technology exists anymore. Of course it won't get any signals. Do you urgently need to make a call?"

"Yeah, I was hoping I could call my parents."

Tecna then takes out a card from her pocket.

"Here's my phone card. I never actually use it, since I have a cellphone of my own, but I still carry it around. There's a phone booth right outside from here."

Varanda takes the card from Tecna's hand.

"Thank you so much, Tecna. I'll be back as soon as I'm done with this call."

She then runs out of the cafe. I have so much to say about how weirdly Varanda acts, but I don't think the girls would appreciate talking behind her back. I don't like talking behind people's back either. I just can't help thinking about how weird Varanda is. How come she has such an old cellphone? Is she an antiques collector? Or is it that Callisto is that far behind concerning technology? I've never been to Callisto so I don't really know. And what does she talk about with Stella? Is she just shy? I don't know anymore. I should stop thinking so much about it.

"Don't you think Varanda has been out there for a while?"

"You're right, Flora. It's been more than half an hour since she left."

Tecna answers Flora. It is strange. Maybe she's still talking to her parents? I'd never talk for that long, though, considering we're not exactly on good terms.

"Let's go check on her."

Stella gets up and we all follow her.

"Ah! She's not in the phone booth!"

Musa points at the booth. She really isn't. And she couldn't be at another one, since this one's the only one close enough. It's also pretty hard to miss.

"Did something happen to her? Maybe she got lost…"

Flora looks around worriedly. Something's fishy… I feel some eerie dark magic. It's not strong at all, for me at least, but Varanda might be in trouble.

"I feel some riled up magic… I think Varanda might be in trouble."

The girls all look at me with worry in their eyes.

"We have to find her!"

Flora looks like she's the one who's most worried out of all of us.

"Onyx, do you know where she is?"

Tecna calmly asks me.

"Yeah, follow me."

I dash towards the faint dark magic that I'm sensing. The girls are all right behind me. I feel the dark magic emanating from an alley.

"This way!"

When we arrive there, the sight makes all of my fairy companions gasp. The situation also troubles me a bit. Varanda is completely enveloped in ice. A witch with icy white hair, probably the one who trapped Varanda, is looking at her and mocking her. Two witches, one with short curly bluish hair and the other with long brown hair, are standing behind, enjoying the scene. Just as the witch is about to send a finishing blow to Veranda, Stella intervenes.

"Stop right there! Get away from her!"

Visibly annoyed and surprised by our presence, the witches shift their attention to us.

"More pesky little fairies?"

The witch with curly hair angrily says that while clenching her fists.

"Come on, Stormy, that just means we get to have a little more fun."

The witch that just said that is the one who's keeping Varanda captive. I guess she's my main target then.

"Fairies, we have to transform-!"

"You girls won't need to."

I interrupt Stella.

"I can take care of them easily. Just get Varanda out of there when I give you an opening. I'll hurt her if I try to do it."

They hesitantly agree and I start walking straight towards the witches. I don't think I'll even need to transform for this. These three probably haven't even graduated from Cloud Tower yet. The witch with white hair looks at me menacingly.

"Who do you think you are, little pixie? You think you're all that? I'll show you just how powerless you are!"

"Pixie? I'm sorry, but I think you're a little confused here. I'm not a fairy."

"What? Does that even matter? I'll still crush you!"

"Are you really sure about that?"

I then put my hand out in front of me.

"Destruction Sphere."

A pitch black sphere forms in my hand. The witch backs away.

"This magic… It's dark magic!"

The witch with long brown hair then steps forward.

"When it comes to dark magic, I've always got the upper-hand."

She says that now, but she's just not strong enough to sense magic levels. If I throw this sphere at them, they'll be seriously injured, or they might even lose their lives. I should just throw it at the wall to scare them. I direct my sphere at the wall. The ball of dark energy then hits the wall at full force and grows ten times bigger. The part of the wall that is hit then completely disintegrates, leaving a large hole. I see fear start to creep in the witches' eyes. In the meantime, Stella unfreezes Varanda.

"You don't want to mess with me, witches. That wasn't even a high level spell for me."

"Sisters, let's go. You haven't heard the last of us!"

The ice witch seems to be the leader. Whatever she says, the other two follow. Good thing this ended without any casualties. At least, not major ones… I turn towards the fairies who are warming Varanda up.

"That was amazing, Onyx! I've never seen an Ankelon's power up close like that."

"That was nothing, Musa… Other Ankelons are capable of much more interesting spells than mine. I can't even dispel anything. All I can do is destroy…"

Flora then comes and puts a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"But you used that power to protect us. You didn't hurt anyone either. In my opinion, that's what separates dark from light."

Flora… That's the first time anyone complimented my powers. All of a sudden, I feel very grateful to have met the girls. I walk towards Stella who's still trying to warm Varanda.

"Bloom! Bloom, are you alright?!"

Bloom…?

"Y-Yeah, Stella… Thank you…"

"Oh, Bloom, don't ever go wandering on your own like that again!"

"Stella…"

All of us look at Stella menacingly. I knew those two were hiding something!

"Alright, you two better tell us everything now, or I'm going to blast you with my Destruction Sphere!"

"Alright, alright! I'll tell you guys everything. Let's head back to Alfea and I'll tell you on the way. Can you stand Bloom?"

We start heading back to Alfea. On the way there, Stella explains to us that Bloom isn't actually from Callisto, but from Earth. We all express how we thought that Earth was completely void of magic since a long time ago. To get Bloom to enter Alfea, she made her act as Varanda, who gave a letter to Stella so that she could deliver it to Alfea, saying that she will not be attending the school that year.

"So that's the whole story… Please girls, can you keep it a secret?"

"Well, I don't like to lie, but this is a special case…"

Tecna says with a bit of concern showing. We reassure the two girls, telling them that their secret is safe with us.

When we arrive at Alfea, it's already past curfew. As soon as we enter through the gates, Griselda is there to "greet" us.

"You girls have the guts to arrive late after the little trick you played on us?"

"Trick? Hehe…"

Stella nervously giggles.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Miss Stella! And you two Miss Varanda!"

She emphasizes on the name Varanda. She figured it out didn't she…

"Did you really think you could fool us? You are not Varanda of Callisto! What you did is unforgivable!"

"It wasn't her idea-!"

"No, Stella… It's my fault, Mrs. Griselda… I'm not Varanda of Callisto."

"For this transgression, young woman, you will be permanently expelled from Alfea! As for you, Miss Stella, you will be suspended for a month!"

That took a turn for the worse…

"Now, now, Griselda."

Ah! Headmistress Faragonda!

"Headmistress?"

"I do agree that lying about that is a serious issue. However, all fairies who earnestly wish to learn are welcome at Alfea. What's your name dear?"

"My name is Bloom, Headmistress… I'm from Earth."

"Again with the lies?! This child never learns! There's no way she's from Earth!"

"I don't think she's lying, Griselda. I will officially enrol you in Alfea. From now on, however, you better not lie to us about such major things. Back to your rooms now, ladies."

We all head back to our dorm. That's a relief. Now we won't have to keep such a huge secret anymore. Today was very eventful. I wonder how I'll be able to handle the classes I'll be taking.

* * *

 **So what did you guys think? Tell me in the reviews :D**


	5. Goal, Reason

**Finally updated! Sorry for the long wait... I hope you guys like this chapter!**

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Chapter 5: Goal, Reason

Professor Wizgiz's class… This is the first one, and I already know that I won't be doing too great. So far, we've had a potion class with professor Palladium, which I'm totally confident about, since it doesn't require any use of magic… most of it doesn't at least. Some special potions require fairy magic, but that's just for extra credits. He seemed very satisfied with my work anyway.

After a lengthy lecture about Metamorphosimbiosis, he snaps his fingers and a mirror appears in front of each of us.

"Alright girls, time for your first exercise! Take the mirror in front of you and look at your reflection. Now, close your eyes and imagine your hair in a different colour. Concentrate your magic and your hair will really change into the colour you imagined. This is a very basic exercise, and I expect you all to easily do it."

Well, it's worth a try. I take the mirror in front of me and look at myself. That pale face… that pitch black hair and eyes to match… I'm not an ugly girl, but I'm an ugly Ankelon. Anyway, no time to think about that. I close my eyes, and the first hair colour that I see myself in is white. Pure white, just like the Light Ankelons. I concentrate my magic and… I hear a loud shatter that snaps my eyes open. I instinctively bring my hand to my face, and feel sharp objects penetrate my skin. I lower my injured hand and find pieces of glass piercing it. The mirror completely shattered. Everyone is looking at me. Professor Wizgiz runs towards me.

"Are you alright there, Onyx? I think you should go to the infirmary right away. Stella, you accompany her, okay?"

"Yes, of course!"

Stella hurriedly gets up and we head out of the classroom.

"Onyx, are you alright? You're bleeding so much!"

"Don't worry Stella. I'm just glad nothing went on my face or in my eyes."

I've always had really fast reflexes. Before I'm even conscious of it, my body always moves to protect me.

"Yeah, let's hurry to the infirmary before you bleed out."

When we get to the school infirmary, Stella opens the door right away.

"Professor Palladium! We have an injured student here!"

I go in after Stella. So Professor Palladium is in charge of the infirmary too? Well Elves do have very good healing powers, so I guess it makes sense. Besides, he's probably not the only infirmary staff.

"Oh my, what happened here? Come sit down on this bed, Onyx. You can go back to class, Stella."

Stella leaves after giving me a sad puppy face. I sit down on the bed and Professor Palladium comes and sits in front of me, on a chair.

"Let's see now… We have to get these glass shards out first. If you don't mind…"

He takes my arm and hovers his other hand on top of my wounds. The glass shards then all come out and go onto a metal plate on a nearby table.

"Mind telling me how this happened?"

"It's a bit embarrassing, to be honest…"

"You can tell me. This might sting a bit."

He then starts wiping the blood with cotton ball that was dabbed in alcohol. It does sting, but nothing I can't handle… I guess I do owe him an explanation.

"In Professor Wizgiz's class, we had a Metamorphosimbiosis exercise."

"The one where you change your hair colour?"

"How did you know?"

"Haha, well he always starts off with that one."

His laugh brings a smile to my face. During the Potionology class, he didn't really seem like a very confident teacher. He delivered the subject well, but with no confidence. Right now, he seems much less nervous.

"Yeah, instead of changing my hair colour, I ended up shattering the mirror instead."

"Is that what usually happens when you use your magic?"

"That's right… I've never been able to cause anything else but destruction."

Professor Palladium closes up my wounds with his magic, then lets go of my arm. That part that he was holding is still warm from his hand.

"Destruction is just destruction. It's how you use it that defines whether it's good or bad. As far as I know, you're a very hardworking and honest person, Onyx."

"Professor…"

"Well, your arm is all better now. You should head back to class. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come see me. I believe our next class together is tomorrow. So, I'll see you then."

"Yes, sir."

I get up and head back to class. He's a very nice and thoughtful person. I might… come see him when I'm feeling a bit down about things.

After classes end, we all go back to our dorms.

"Why can't I get this?!"

"Don't worry about it Bloom. You just need to concentrate."

Stella has been coaching Bloom through the hair colour transformation exercise ever since we got back to the dorm. It seems like I'm not the only one who couldn't do it. I'd help, but I have no clue how fairy magic works. Since my results were so violent anyway, I'm exempted from this exercise.

Flora, seeing how down Bloom looks after failing so many times, goes and sits next to her.

"Bloom, what's your reason for being here?"

"Reason?"

"Yes, for example, I'm attending Alfea because I want to learn more about the different wonders of nature. I want to keep learning about natural magic and become a strong fairy of nature."

Reason, huh… It's like a goal for attending Alfea.

"Do you have one, Stella?"

I look at Stella and ask her.

"Me? Well, I'm the Princess of Solaria. I have to be strong enough to take over my father's place."

"Once you find the reason why you're here, you'll be able to persevere and work towards your goal, without giving up."

Flora's right about that. I also need to find my goal… my reason. Once I do, maybe I'll finally come to terms with myself and my race. I'll be able to find the place where I really belong.

* * *

 **So tell me what you think of this chapter :D**

 **I'll to update again soon!**


	6. The Ball

**This took a bit more time to write, because I didn't want to rush things toooo much with Palladium and Onyx! I think I still did, though XD**

 **It's up to you guys to judge that!**

 **I hope you enjoy :D**

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Chapter 6: The Ball

Why do we have to wake up so early every day? I get that fairies are morning creatures, but 6AM is just too early. Besides, I'm more of a night owl, so I can't even sleep early. At least their breakfast is good. I follow the girls to the cafeteria and we sit in our usual spot.

"I heard Headmistress Faragonda has some exciting news."

Musa says while grabbing a toast. Exciting news?

"I think I know what it's going to be!"

Stella squeals. It seems that only Bloom and I are clueless about what Faragonda has to announce. While eating and chatting casually, Griselda claps her hands to grab our attention to the front, where the teachers eat.

"Listen up girls! Headmistress Faragonda has an important announcement to make."

Faragonda then gets up and coughs to clear her throat.

"In honour of the new year, and to welcome you all to Alfea, there will be a special event. This is an annual tradition that Alfea shares with Red Fountain. The event in question is a ball celebrating the beginning of the school year."

At the mention of Red Fountain, all of the girls start to squeal and whisper in excitement among themselves. I've seen some of the guys of Red Fountain in Magix before, but I've never talked to them before. Griselda demands order so that Faragonda can finish up what she has to say.

"The dance will be tonight, so there will be no classes today for you to have the time to prepare. I hope you girls have fun and enjoy the ball tonight."

After Faragonda finishes her speech and sits down, the chattering gets louder. That means that the class with Professor Palladium is cancelled for today.

"This is going to be AWESOME!"

Stella seems the most excited about it. After breakfast, all of us regroup at the dorm. We all show off our dresses to each other. Stella's mermaid cut dress is a very sunny-like, with its orange and yellow fabric. Tecna's is a light blue and green modern looking dress that really suits her personality. Flora's pink dress is adorned by green vine patterns. Musa's outfit is made of different shades of red, complete with red headphones, giving her a groovy look. My dress is mostly black and short. The skirt is flared with a black rose made of fabric at the waist. The dress is sleeveless. At the waist is a white corset with black thorn patterns. My black high heel sandals complete the look. As for Bloom…

"Where's your dress, Bloom?"

I ask her, a bit surprised to see her in her usual outfit.

"Well, is it alright if I go like this…?"

She says a bit hesitantly. Of course, Stella jumps at what Bloom just said.

"Are you kidding me? This is the event of the year! You can't go like this! Don't you have a dress?"

"…No, I don't have a dress…"

Wait, no dress at all? Even I have one, and I'm not much of a dress kind of girl. All the fairies and me look at her with bewilderment. There's a short silence that is then broken by none other than the fashion obsessed Stella.

"Alright, girl, you NEED a new dress. We're going out shopping!"

We all then drag Bloom to downtown Magix, in hope of finding something nice in time for the ball. We go from store to store, making her try out every plausibly appealing dress we find. Finally, she tries on a blue one-sleeved dress that looks perfect on her. She then looks at the price tag and gives up on it. After walking around some more, we don't find anything worth it. The fairies and I go our separate way, since it was getting late. Bloom decides to keep looking, though. When we get back to the dorm, we wear our dresses and perfect our makeup for the big night.

Man, I have never put on this much makeup in my whole life… Stella really had fun with it. I have to admit, though: the eyeliner is on point. The fairies are supposed to go decorate the place where the ball will take place. Since I would probably ruin everything with my magic, I was exempted from decoration duty. And now I have nothing to do until the ball starts in a few hours… Stella and the others are already gone to help out. Maybe I should go see how things are going there.

When I enter the ballroom, I'm amazed by how many things are floating around, being carried by fairy magic from place to place. The decorations are rapidly flying to where the fairies bring them and are then attached to different parts of the room. Faragonda, Griselda, and other female teachers are leading the preparations. The male teachers are just standing on the side, trying to stay out of the flying objects' way. Professor Palladium is there too. Maybe I should go say hi. I was actually looking forward to his class. Too bad it's been cancelled for today's event. While deep in my thoughts, I make my way to Professor Palladium.

"Watch out!"

In a reflex, I bring my arm up at the giant flying pink ball and a black beam shoots from my hand and destroys everything in the way, starting with the huge object that was about to hit me. As a result of my defensive action, a lot of the decoration that was in the same direction as my beam got disintegrated. What did I do…? Everyone watches in horror at the mess I did. I then start hearing whispering among the fairies.

"What do we do now…"

"I knew it wasn't a good idea to have an Ankelon here…"

"Dark Ankelon? She's cursed for sure…"

"Why is she even here…"

I lower my head at what I'm hearing. What was I thinking? Did I really think that I'd fit in here? Everywhere is the same. I'll never be able to be accepted as I am. Before I knew it, I was already in one of the many hallways of Alfea. I did hear Stella's voice calling out, but I just ignored it and ran away. Besides, none of the fairies would follow me, because they're going to be way too busy cleaning up after the mess I made. I rest my back on the wall. I can't believe I even made a hole in the ceiling… No wonder they're all angry at me. I'm pretty sure Stella, Flora, Musa, and Tecna are also pretty angry at me. I just ruined their long anticipated annual ball. I'm the worst…

"There you are."

I lift my head towards the source of the voice, surprised that someone actually followed me all the way here. I'm even more surprised that that person is… Professor Palladium.

"Professor Palladium…!"

I feel tears sting my eyes. No, I shouldn't cry over this! I wasn't even about to cry when I was alone. I don't know why, but seeing him now makes it harder to contain my tears. He looks at me with soft eyes.

"Don't be so harsh on yourself; it wasn't your fault."

I control my breathing and swallow my tears.

"I should've been more careful…"

Professor Palladium then comes to me and puts a hand on my shoulder, in a comforting way.

"Why don't we go back, Onyx?"

I shake my head.

"They wouldn't want me to go back. No one would care if I never showed up, anyway."

"That's not true. I'm sure your friends would feel sad if you weren't there."

Friends…? Do they still consider me a friend?

"I'd do them more good if I just stayed in my room tonight."

At least this way, there won't be any unwanted accidents. I start moving away from Professor Palladium. He then holds my wrist, preventing me from leaving. Why?

"That's not true, Onyx."

I feel frustration starting to well up inside me. Not against Professor Palladium, but against who I am. Being a Dark Ankelon is what's causing all of these problems. Why me?

"Let me go…! Please…"

Even though I'm angry, I can't yell. I always bottle it in. But… all of my negative emotions are boiling inside of me. The tears that were threatening to come out, are now escaping my eyes and rolling down my cheeks. I lower my head, trying to hide that.

"Onyx…"

Professor Palladium softly breathes. He then hands me a tissue. I don't take it. I'm a bit shaken to really care about a tissue. He then tries to wipe off my tears himself, since I didn't take his tissue. Why is he so nice to me? More tears start falling.

"I can't keep up with all of it."

Professor Palladium says in his usual panicky way. This makes me chuckle a bit. I take the tissue from him and wipe my own tears. good thing the eyeliner Stella used is waterproof, or I'd look like a bigger mess than I do now.

"Do you want more time to calm down?"

"It's alright… I just don't know if I should go back."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll stay with you the whole time. Unless it's inconvenient then of course I'll-"

"I'd like that…"

It's certainly better than standing in a corner. He then smiles bashfully and we head back to the ballroom. When we get there, Stella, Musa, Tecna, and Flora run up to me.

"Onyx! You're back! We were so worried!"

Flora holds my hands and gives me a worried look. They're not angry…?

"I'm sorry about what I did…"

"Oh, it's not your fault. It was merely selfdefense."

Tecna states. I'm so glad… I look at the room and there are no traces left of the disaster I caused. Fairy magic sure is amazing…

"We were about to go check on Bloom, so we'll be right back, Onyx."

I nod at Stella. I wonder if Bloom found her dress. The girls go out of the room and I am left alone with Professor Palladium. The Red Fountain guys are already here. A lot of the girls are already socializing with them.

"See? I told you they cared."

I giggle at Professor Palladium's words.

"Thank you, Professor Palladium."

"You can call me Palladium when we're not in class."

"Alright, Palladium."

I smile at him. He really is a very kind person. For some reason, his cheeks become a subtle shade of pink.

"A-Aren't you going to go talk to the Red Fountain boys? I'm sure you can find someone nice to dance with."

I look at the scene in front of me. To be honest, none of the boys really catch my eye.

"I'm not too interested in that… Besides, I'm not the most social of people. I doubt any of them would want anyone but a fairy anyway."

That's what they were expecting when they came here anyway.

"I'm sure many of them would be honoured to dance with a pretty lady like you."

I blink twice rapidly and look at Palladium. Me? Pretty?

"I'm… pretty?"

Palladium's cheeks become a more pronounced shade of reddish pink.

"A-Anyway, if you don't want to dance with them, I don't mind dancing with you instead, that is if you don't mind dancing with your Professor, of course… You don't have to agree just because I'm your teacher! I'm just saying that if you want-"

"Sure, I'd be honoured."

Palladium pauses a bit and looks at me. He then gulps.

"W-Well, shall we?"

He takes my hand and puts his other around my waist. His movements are very hesitant. Finally in position, we start to slowly sway to the music. This is nice… I feel at ease, even after what happened today. Palladium has been very patient and understanding with me. I wonder why he cares so much. I just hope he'll be like that forever. I really enjoy spending time with him. He's one of the only people who seem to genuinely care about me.

The music stops after a bit and both me and Palladium stop dancing. We then break away from each other and smile while avoiding each other's eyes. I feel a bit shy looking at him in the eyes right now… One of the Red Fountain boys announces something about a present they prepared for the fairies. They then start distributing golden eggs, and a random guy gives me one too, as not to exclude me. I look curiously at the egg. I feel faint magical energy from it. It's a weird feeling, but I brush it off since it's not negative.

"You're going to open it?"

"Yeah, it's just a curious little thing."

I try to open it. When I do, a bunch of golden butterflies made of light escape. It's pretty, but… I was expecting more? Palladium lightly laughs.

"You don't seem impressed."

"You read right through me."

I say while shyly smiling. The music starts again.

"One more round?"

I say to Palladium, hopeful that maybe he'll want to dance with me again.

"My pleasure."

This time he seems more sure of himself. He's still a bit hesitant when he holds me to dance, but not as much as before. We dance a bit longer, until Bloom enters with a two piece blue outfit. When she sees me, I give her a thumbs up and a smile. She smiles back, understanding that I was complimenting her look. She then bumps into a blonde Red Fountain guy. I don't see the rest, since I'm way too busy dancing with Palladium. We are both now not avoiding each other's eyes. For the whole dance we don't take our eyes off each other and it feels… magical.

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	7. The Voice of Nature

**It took me a bit of time to update, but I finally did it!**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 7: The Voice of Nature

"Girls, in today's class, you need to learn to listen to the voice of nature."

Fantastic. Today is Professor Palladium's nature class. We're currently on a field trip in the Black-Mud Swamp. According to Professor Palladium's instructions, we are supposed to get to the clearing of Gloomy-Wood forest. Seems simple, right? Wrong. There's always a catch when things look too easy. First of all, none of us actually know where the clearing is. Second of all, we are not allowed to use any magic to find our way there. We're supposed to "listen to the voice of nature." In other words, have nature itself guide us to the clearing. The problem is that I've never felt any connection with nature. Good thing that it's a team assignment, or I wouldn't know what to do… Besides, I really don't want to fail and disappoint Professor Palladium. Not that he'd judge me for it, but I really want to impress him.

"Professor Palladium! A mosquito bit me!"

This whiny voice… I know too well who it belongs to. It's Francine, a fairy with long reddish brown hair. She's always complaining about something.

"Yes, well we are near a swamp and it's only a mosquito, no big deal."

You tell her, Professor!

"But it bit me right here…"

I can't believe her! She just lifted up her super short shorts and pointed at a mosquito bite up her thigh. Doesn't she even have any bit of decency?

"Well… I… Uh… What I meant was…"

Professor Palladium is all flustered. Most of the fairies start giggling. Why do they have to give Professor Palladium such a hard time? I glare at them, and they instantly stop. They then turn around, trying ignore my glare. All the fairies know what I am. None of them dares to directly confront me, even though I'd never hurt any of them. Not intentionally, at least…

"Poor Professor…"

Bloom says to us. I nod. Stella then joins in.

"If he were more confident, he'd gain more respect."

I want to say something back to Stella, telling her that it's wrong, but… I know she's right. Professor Palladium brushes the fairies' teasing off like he always does, instead of reprimanding it head on, and continues on with his explanation. He then disappears in a flash of light, leaving us to our assignment.

"So where do we start?"

Musa looks at all of us. Bloom then points at the swamp to our left.

"Let's go over there."

Since none of us had any other ideas, we decide to follow Bloom.

"Ugh! This feels really nasty. I keep sinking in more and more."

Stella is right about sinking in. The muddy swamp was now up to my thighs.

"What's that weird smell?"

Bloom innocently asks. I start sniffing the air. This is…! I look at the swamp and notice bubbles forming up.

"Girls, we need to get out of here! Now!"

At the alarming tone of my voice, the fairies all get out of the swamp as fast as they can. That smell is definitely gas.

"Let's see what that bubble holds."

Bloom, after everyone was out of the swamp, takes a small branch and throws it at one of the bubbles. It explodes and blue gas escapes it in a straight line. Its pressure is pretty strong for it to shoot up like this.

"If we had stayed even a second longer in there, we would've been deep fried."

Musa exclaims. Good thing we got out then. This is not the way I want to go…

"Nice quick thinking, Onyx."

Tecna says in an impressed voice. I feel my cheeks get warm. When Tecna says something, she means it. This makes me feel happy, somehow…

We start wandering in a different direction.

"I can't seem to hear anything…"

Bloom says. We've all been trying to hear the voice of nature, but none of us is succeeding.

"Wait! I'm feeling something."

Flora closes her eyes and concentrates. She then opens them and looks at me with slightly raised eyebrows.

"Nature, it's…"

She hesitates a bit. I know what she's about to say.

"It's afraid of me, isn't it?"

I say it more as a fact than a question. She lowers her gaze, confirming it. I've had that feeling for a while. If I'm around, they won't be able to get anywhere. The others look at me, a bit puzzled by how that's possible.

"I think it's better if I don't come with you guys…"

"Now listen here, you!"

Stella comes up to me, frowning.

"Don't you even start moping. You're coming with us, whether Mother Nature likes it or not. If I had to choose between you or some unjustified fear, I'd choose you. So suck it up, and we're going to find that clearing together!"

My eyes are wide open with surprise. A big bright smile then replaces my surprised face.

"Thanks, Stella. Let's work hard together."

With our new resolution, we keep walking. Flora and Bloom try hard to follow the voice of nature, since they're the ones who are more sensitive to it.

After a while of walking, a loud rumbling sound above us. We all look up and see an aircraft in smokes, falling at an alarming rate. It looks like they're going to crash not too far from here!

Flora points at it.

"Look! It's a Red Fountain airship!"

"We have to go help them out!"

Bloom ran up to the crash-site. We all follow behind. When we get there, we find four boys from Red Fountain getting out of the swamp where they crashed. If I remember correctly, one of them, the blonde one was dancing with Bloom at the dance. The brown haired one is the one who danced with Stella. I don't really know anything about the other two. One of them is wearing glasses, and the other one has purple hair. They seem to be arguing with each other. At least, it seems like the one who's arguing is the purple haired one.

"Are you guys alright?"

Flora asks them, making them stop arguing to shift their attention towards us.

"Isn't it rather obvious?"

The purple haired guy retorts in a rude tone. Am I the only one who's annoyed at his attitude? Because Musa seems to like it! She all smiles and can't take her eyes off him.

"We're all safe and sound, thanks-"

The brown haired guy gasps in mid-sentence. His gaze is set on a hole in the ship.

"Oh no! Where's the troll?"

All of the other Red Fountain guys gasp as well. The fairies also look surprised. A troll? Why were they transporting a troll?! I look at the ground and see giant feet on the muddy swamp path. That must be where the troll escaped.

"He's escaped!"

The blonde guy says after seeing the footprints.

"You were transporting a troll, and you guys let him escape?!"

Tecna sounds mildly outraged at the lack of security. She doesn't want to outright blame them, but it still sounds like she is. She's right though. A troll can be very dangerous.

"We didn't let anyone escape. There was an accident. We lost altitude…"

"Mechanical failure."

While the purple haired guy was trying to find an excuse, the one with glasses interrupted him with his explanation. It doesn't really seem like these guys are on good terms. Or at least, they seem to argue way too much to be able to function well as a team.

"Anyhow, there's nothing to worry about: he's handcuffed."

The purple haired guy sounds confident. I look next to my feet and find those handcuffs that are supposed to be on the troll. I pick them up and hold it up.

"Those the handcuffs?"

I say with an almost bored voice. This whole charade is getting to me. This troll can seriously hurt someone and all these guys are doing is try to look good in front of the fairies. That or they just argue…

"How is that possible?!"

The purple haired guy snatches the handcuffs from my hands. No need to be so pushy.

"What are you girls doing around here?"

The blonde guy asks us. Actually, he asks Bloom in particular, since he's just looking at her.

"We're in the middle of an assignment, Brandon."

Bloom answers him. So the blonde one is Brandon.

"Then go back to your assignment and don't worry about a thing. Leave it to the Specialists."

The purple haired one arrogantly replies.

"The Specialists are going to be here? When?!"

Stella says in a sarcastic tone. Good one. He looks pretty angry at that, though.

"We're right here you silly fairy!"

Before they break into a verbal fight, the brown haired one cuts in.

"What Riven is trying to say is that it would be best if you fairies focus on your assignment while we try to capture that beast back."

"We don't need your editorial comments, your Highness."

The purple haired one also says in a sarcastic tone. Some other fairies were hearing everything that was happening. Amaryl cuts in, not standing to just watch.

"And we don't need you to tell us what to do! We'll take care of this on our own."

"You do what you gotta do, but don't ever say we didn't warn you."

The purple haired one then turns to the guys after answering Amaryl.

"Come on guys, we got a troll to catch."

The Red Fountain boys then all leave.

"Now what do we do?"

Bloom asks us.

"They won't stand a chance against that troll. Not with that kind of shaky teamwork."

"Yeah. You're right about that, Onyx."

Stella chuckles. We decide to do our best to find the troll before the guys get themselves in more trouble.

* * *

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 **Thank you for reading! 3**


	8. The Voice of Nature Part 2

**I finally updated!**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :D**

* * *

Chapter 8: The Voice of Nature Part 2

"It's really difficult to listen to nature…"

Flora tries to whisper that, but I still hear her. I know she doesn't mean any harm. It is a fact that nature is actually afraid of me. Their progress would've been so much faster if I wasn't there.

After a bit of walking, we end up going into a field of strange red vines.

"Be careful, guys. This plant hates noise."

Taking Flora's warning seriously, I do my best not to do any noise. Stella, on the other hand, doesn't seem to want to follow any warnings.

"Silence? Really now? Do you really expect me to stay quiet for the sake of one selfish plant?"

"Stella…!"

Flora whispered to her, with urgency in her voice. Before any of us could do anything, the vines wrap around Stella's legs and lift her up, upside down. Of course, this causes her to scream, which causes the plant to start becoming more violent, shaking its victim uncontrollably.

"Stella! You need to stop screaming!"

Flora's still whispering. I don't think any of this is going to work. I step up to where Stella is. This whole charade is causing us to lose way too much time.

"Let her go or I'm going to get angry."

As if sensing the danger in my voice, the plant immediately let go of Stella and receded.

"Onyx… We could've reasoned with it."

Flora looks at me with disappointed eyes.

"We could've, but we couldn't have reasoned with Stella."

Flora sighs and we all resume our search. I get that Flora is not very happy about me spooking the plants she cares about so much, but it's not like there was any other immediate way to handle things.

"Aaaaaah! Help!"

"That sounds like the guys!"

Bloom then runs towards where the screams are coming from. As we all thought, they're already in trouble. The "Specialists" were wrapped up completely in the red vines.

"You guys! Don't be so loud!"

I might as well let Flora handle this one. I don't think she'd appreciate it if I did the same thing twice. After succeeding in calming the guys, she spoke gently to the plant. It then loosens its grip on the guys, who all let out a sigh of relief.

"What happened to 'Leave it to the Specialists!' hmm?"

Stella is just rubbing it in while they're still down.

"We could've handled this just fine!"  
"You're not fooling anyone, Riven."

I look at him with an annoyed gaze. How immature can he be?

"What did you say?!"

"Why don't you stop wasting time and energy getting angry at me and direct all that towards finding and catching that troll?"

"Kuh…"

And he doesn't say anything else. Not like there's anything he could say. He knows that I'm perfectly right.

We all resume our search, this time together with the Specialists.

Walking through the swamp and the meadows, we reach a large swampy river.

"How are we supposed to cross this?"

Musa asks while looking around.

"What about these platforms? If we time our jumps right, we can make it through."

Bloom motions at the moving earth platforms on the river. This could be really dangerous, but what other choice do we have?

After everyone agreed to follow this course of action, we all start slowly making our way to the other side, jumping carefully from one plot of earth to the other.

Alright, I should focus on myself and make sure I don't miss a single stride.

So far so good… Already half-way there! Wait, what's happening?! The plots of land are moving much more than before!

"A whirlpool! Hurry up guys!"

Everyone has reached the shore already, except for Riven, Tecna, and me. I look behind me, and see a giant whirlpool sucking everything in. Tecna makes her way to shore, and, just as I am about to make my last jump, I hear a loud splash behind me.

"Riven!"

Musa shouts. I look behind me once again, and see Riven struggling to swim against the current. Without thinking about it too much, I jump after him, and get a hold of his arm.

"Onyx!"

The girls scream my name. This current is way too strong. Even with both Riven and my efforts to swim against the current, we keep slowly and steadily getting further away from the shore. This is not working. I'm sorry, Professor Palladium… I'll have to go against the rules of today's assignment. I know he'll be disappointed in me, but there isn't any other choice.

I concentrate my powers and immediately transform, black wings gushing out of my back. My clothes also transform into my black tight corset dress.

I keep a hold on Riven's arm, and fly up. The strength of my wings help me get both of us out of there with ease. As soon as I reach the shore, I drop Riven on the floor and transform back. The guys look at me with a lot of confusion and surprise apparent in their eyes. I think nobody actually told them that I'm an Ankelon.

"Onyx! You're safe!"

Stella runs to me and hugs me. The other girls join in, making it a big group hug. I can't help but smile and feel joy welling up inside me.

"You broke the rules, though. Is that alright?"

Bloom says to me with a worried expression.

"It's not like I had any choice. I had to help Riven before it was too late."

At the mention of his name, we all turn our gazes towards him. He averts his eyes.

"I guess I should thank you for that…"

Even though it doesn't sound like he was actually grateful, I'll still take it.

We continue our path, following the voice of nature. After a bit of walking, I sense dark magic for a brief moment. Right after that, Bloom looks around, a bit confused.

"That's strange… I can't feel anything anymore."

"You're right, Bloom. Nature is telling us that the troll disappeared."

Flora also looks confused at this turn of events.

"If it helps, I did sense dark magic right before you guys said that you lost track of the troll."

Everyone looked at each other, trying to find an explanation for this. After thoroughly searching the area, we all concluded that the troll had in fact disappeared.

The guys then offer to give us a ride to the clearing of Gloomy-Wood forest, which is the finish line of our assignment.

We arrive there in a few minutes, only to find out that we were the last ones to arrive.

We come face-to-face with Professor Palladium. I can't even look him in the eyes, since I feel like I went against his instructions.

"You girls are finally here, I see. Congratulations to everyone for completing this assignment. I must say that I am impressed with some of you, while I am disappointed with others. Nonetheless, I have decided not to put a grade on this assignment, but to keep it as an exercise. Class is dismissed. Let us all return to Alfea, now."

He then turns to me.

"I'd like to see you in my office after this, Onyx."

Oh great… I knew he wasn't happy with what I did. Did I really disappoint him that much?

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 **Thanks for reading! And don't forget to review :D**


	9. Denial

**So how about this fast update? :D You guys happy? Are you happy? XD**

 **Yesterday was Canada day and I was off work so I went out with my boyfriend for a picnic. It put me in a pretty romantic mood to write this.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy it!**

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Chapter 9: Denial

When we get back to Alfea, I go to the dorms to change into my everyday clothes and take a bath from all the mud of the swamp. Now I just have to go see Palladium in his office. Wait no, it's Professor Palladium. When it's school related, I have to call him Professor. It's only appropriate.

When I find myself in front of his office door, I inhale slowly, trying to calm myself down. I then bring my hand to his office door and knock hesitantly.

"Come in!"  
His usual cheerful and somewhat panicked voice sounds from the other side of the door. I reach for the doorknob and open the door. I see Professor Palladium putting away a few messy stacks of paper. He then looks in my direction and smiles.

"Onyx! Go sit in the chair; I'll be right with you."

He seems… not angry with me? I'm a bit confused. Didn't he want to see me in his office to tell me how badly I did in the assignment? I should just go sit in the chair facing his desk… if you can even call that a desk anymore. It's overflowing with a bunch of papers and books scattered all over. The floor is not even spared either.

After getting rid of the pile that he was carrying, he came to sit behind his desk, right across from me.

"So, what brings you here, Onyx?"

Wait… He doesn't remember that he's the one who told me to go to his office?

"Didn't you tell me to come to your office after the assignment?"

A moment of silence passes as realization washes over his face.

"Oh yes! That's right! I'm sorry it completely slipped my mind. Yes, so I called you here to talk about your performance in the assignment."

I nod while smiling at his usual clumsiness. My smile then disappears when I think of what he's about to probably say to me.

"You're disappointed, aren't you, Professor?"

His eyes widen.

"Disappointed? Why would I be?"

Did he also forget what happened in the assignment?

"Well, I used magic when you specifically said that it wasn't allowed…"

"You really think I'd be upset about that?"

I blink a few times.

"You're… not?"

"Not at all, that was a matter of life or death. If you hadn't jumped in to rescue your friends, I would've."

I let out a sigh. I'm really relieved for some reason that he's not disappointed with me.

"I think that was the first time I've seen a Dark Ankelon transformation. It was pretty impressive."

"Impressive?"

My transformation? My cursed nature? I shift my gaze to the ground.

"Of course. Is something wrong?"

"I… no one has ever said anything positive about it."

"But it's such a beauti-… No! I mean it's a very… umm… good transformation! Yes!"

He then scratches the back of his head while making little nervous laughs. He was just about to say beautiful… right? Or am I just imagining things? I feel my cheeks and my ears getting warm.

"Th-Thank you, Professor Palladium."

"I told you you can call me P-Palladium outside of class."

Both of us are stuttering. I'm feeling really weird. Why is that? Well, anyway, it's time for me to go to my next class. I wish I didn't have to, though. I like spending time with Palladium. I get up, and, just as I am about to tell him my goodbyes, he asks me something.

"You're leaving already?"

"Yeah, my next class is soon."

"Oh… Alright, it's good to be a… well good student. If you ever need any help for any of your classes, don't hesitate to come and talk to me. Of course, if… if you need anything else, I'm also always happy to help."

I giggle and nod.

"Thank you Palladium."

I wave at him and leave his office. While walking to my next class, I put a hand on my chest. My heart is beating so fast. I wonder why I feel so strange when I'm around Palladium. He's my teacher! I should just look up to him and seek his advice. And that's what I'm doing! Except that night at the dance… It felt so nice for some reason. He isn't a boy from Red Fountain. He's my Professor, and yet… I wouldn't have wanted that night to go any differently. Being in his hesitant arms, gazing into his brown eyes… Oh no, my face is getting all warm again! I should really stop this.

The whole day I couldn't concentrate well during the classes. I get back to the dorm, and without talking to anyone, I just head straight for my bed where I lie down. Stella comes in also.

"Onyx? Are you alright?"

I turn my head away from her.

"Yeah, what makes you think I'm not?"

That's a total lie, and she probably spotted it…

"Well, for one it seems like you've been avoiding everyone. Not to mention how you spaced out in all of the classes today. Something is definitely up if you ask me."

I don't answer her, and keep avoiding her gaze. I know if she looks at me, she might figure something out. What, though? What would she figure out? I don't even know what it is myself. All I know is that it probably has to do with Palladium… I start picturing him smiling at me.

"You're blushing!"

What?! I hide my face under the pillow. How did I just blush like that out of nowhere?

"I knew it! You like someone! Who is it? Is it a boy from Red Fountain? Maybe an Ankelon."

"Never! I have nothing to do with them anymore."

"Alright, alright… So who is it?"

"It's no one. You're wrong anyway. I don't like anyone."

Stella snatches the pillow off of my face.

"Yeah right, I can read it all over your face."

I avert my gaze. She might be right… Do I like…? No! This is not right!

"I'm not in the mood for this, Stella."

She pouts and puts down the pillow.

"Fine. I'll find out on my own, then."

Oh great… Hopefully she won't notice anything that doesn't actually exist, since I don't want any weird rumours going around.

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 **Sooooo how was it? Tell me in the reviews!**


	10. Kitchen Duty

**I've been soooo busy at work lately! They kept giving me so much paperwork to do that I didn't have the time to write this on time XD**

 **Hope you enjoy it ;D**

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Chapter 10: Kitchen Duty

Today, our dorm is on kitchen duty. Problem is, I've never really cooked anything in my life before. The girl told me that it's no problem and that it isn't that hard. It also seems like I'm not the only one in this situation; Stella also never even went into a kitchen before. I've been put on vegetable cutting duty.

"This is not a good idea…"

I mumble under my breath, my hand shaking. I have to admit that I am a bit scared to cut those vegetables. Why did they have to give me the hardest task? Alright… Let's start with something easy… The tomato? How am I even supposed to cut that? I'll try to hold it in place first and…

"Ah…!"

I bring my finger to my mouth. I just had to go and cut my finger… It doesn't seem too deep, but I had to find something to keep the blood away from the food.

"Onyx! Are you alright?"

Musa says to me, since she was standing right next to me when this all happened.

"Yeah, I just need to put a bandage on it and it'll be all good."

"They have some at the infirmary. We'll take care of everything here. You go take care of that finger, sweetie."

Flora reassures me and I do as she says. I leave the kitchen behind, while looking at my finger. It really isn't a big deal, but if I continue cooking with that, the food will just have my blood all over it. I don't think it's something people will want to eat.

I arrive at the infirmary and find no one there. I guess I'll try looking around for a first aid kit. They should be accessible to everyone. While I'm searching around for it, I hear footsteps approaching. I also hear a girl's voice.

"It hurts… I really don't feel so good, Professor."

"Alright, alright. I'll take care of you. Just hang in there until we reach the Infirmary."

Professor Palladium? He's helping out a fairy. He is sometimes in charge of the Infirmary. Why does her complaining sound so fake? She's probably trying to skip today's classes by pretending to be sick. It's kind of annoying how she's taking advantage of Professor Palladium's kindness like that. It's also pissing me off how he's just helping her… But I guess that's who he is. He's just… a really nice person.

They come into the infirmary, and, for some reason, the scene makes my heart squeeze uncomfortably. Professor Palladium had the fairy's arm around his shoulder, and had his own arm around her waist, to give her support. Why're they so close to each other? She doesn't even look like she needs all that support. Professor Palladium would do almost anything for his students… Any of his students…

He sits the whining girl on the bed and then notices me.

"Ah, Onyx! Did something happen? Did you hurt yourself?"

He leaves the fairy and rushes to me.

"No, it's nothing. I just need a bandage."

I then immediately turn away from him, not wanting him to see my confused emotions. The girl has stopped whining and is now playing on her phone. Yeah, she just wants to skip the day and have an excuse for it. I spot the first aid kit and open it without saying anything. I get a small bandage out and quickly wrap it around my finger.

"Onyx, let me see."

"It's alright. I have to hurry back to the kitchen, everyone's probably waiting."

I hurry out of the Infirmary and head for the kitchen. Professor Palladium is a very caring person. Not just towards me, but towards everyone. It makes me feel weird… Did I think I was special? Professor Palladium just treats everyone like that. It's just… who he is… not who I am to him… I don't know why this is even affecting me like that. Finding out that I'm not all that special is just something I'm not really used to, I guess.

On my way to the kitchen, I find the girls standing right outside it, being lectured by the chef of the school. I wonder what happened while I was away. After her lecture, the chef goes back into the kitchen, leaving my friends outside. I go up to them, wanting to know what's going on.

"Onyx, you're back."

Musa puts her arm around my shoulder in a friendly manner.

"I leave you girls for one minute and you get yourselves into trouble."

I adopt a teasing tone and chuckle.

"We just… burned a dish or two."

Stella gives an innocent smile. I'm pretty sure it was more than that…

"Actually, everything got burned."

Bloom corrects Stella. That's what I thought.

"And the kitchen's a mess…"

Flora shakes her head while sighing.

"We've actually just been banned from the kitchen as well."

Tecna informs me. We all laugh the whole event off, since it is kind of funny how fast all of that happened. I'm already feeling better now. I don't even know why I wasn't feeling good about seeing Professor Palladium taking care of that girl earlier. It doesn't matter though. He's nothing more than my teacher.

On our way to the dining hall, Stella tells us about the invitation she got from Prince Sky to go on a date tonight.

Today's classes went catastrophically as always. Today, though, it was even worse. Not only did I fail in the classes I normally fail at, but, during Professor Palladium's Potionology class, I mixed the wrong potions, and I made an error in the doses. This is the first time I ever do so badly in the Potionology class. I don't get it! Why am I so distracted today?

I head back to the dorm with Flora, who had the same last class as me. When we get there, Stella is already there with Bloom, trying to find the perfect outfit for her date, which is still in a few hours.

She drags us along and, when Tecna and Musa return, they are also forced to help her. Well, it's not like I have anything better to do. Besides, it'll be a good distraction for me, since I've been feeling extremely weird today.

We wish Stella good luck on her date. Before she leaves, she gives Bloom her Ring of Solaria, since it doesn't match her outfit.

"I'll take good care of it until you come back, Stella."

"I know you will, Bloom. Well, I'm off, girls!"

She leaves, all excited about her date. I hope it all goes well for her.

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 **Thank you so much everyone for reading this story! I still can't believe how positively you guys are receiving it :3**

 **Tell me what you think of it in the reviews! :D**


	11. The Imposter

**Alright, so I got a review where someone wanted me to write the POV of Palladium at the infirmary incident. Thing is, I feel like it would be weird and out of place since it's all been Onyx' POV until now... If it's something that a lot of people want, however, I can always dedicate special chapters with Palladium's POV of the different events he went, goes, and will go through with Onyx. If that's something that you guys would be interested in, tell me in the reviews. If I feel like there's enough people for it, I might end up doing that.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :D**

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Chapter 11: The Imposter

I wake up to rummaging sounds. I open my eyes and see Stella hunched over her drawers, throwing everything out of it.

"…Stella?"

What is she doing so early in the morning? I get up and rub my eyes to make surer that I'm seeing things right. She probably didn't hear me call her name. Now that I'm more awake, I notice that she's still wearing the same clothes she was wearing yesterday for her date.

"Stella!"

I say in a louder voice to get her attention. She then looks at me with an annoyed face.

"What?! If I didn't answer you the first time it means that I don't want to talk!"

She then goes back to throw her stuff all over the place. She then goes to my side of the room.

"Oh no, you don't. I won't let you make a mess out of my stuff."

I stand in her way, showing her that I'm clearly not amused by what she's been doing.

"Move!"

She sounds so aggressive. It's like she's a totally different person.

Before I could retort, Bloom and the other girls come into the room.

"What's up guys?"

Bloom says while yawning.

"Are you fighting so early in the morning?"

Musa sighs. Stella, or whoever she is, stomps over to Bloom.

"Where is it?"

Bloom looks just as surprised as everyone else in the room.

"What are you talking about, Stella? Are you in a bad mood?"

Bloom says in a worried tone.

"Did something happen with Sky?"

Tecna asks. Stella doesn't seem to be listening though.

"Where is my ring?!"

What? She's the one who gave it to Bloom. Why is she so angry about it? Wait… Maybe it really isn't Stella. I concentrate on her aura. It's dark magic. I knew it.

I feel anger boiling inside of me. What did she do to Stella? Where is Stella? Our friend is probably in danger and it's all because of that imposter. I grab her by the hair at the top of her head. She screams and everyone else gasps at my actions.

"What are you going?! Let me go!"

I push her down, forcing her to kneel on the ground. Of course, I use my magic to prevent her from using her own to escape. I then lower my head and talk to her in the most menacing voice I could muster.

"You better tell me where the real Stella is if you value your life."

"What…? The real Stella? Onyx, are you saying that she's an imposter?"

Flora asks me in a worried tone.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Stella doesn't have any dark magic within her. But all I could sense from this one is dark magic. On top of that, her weird behaviour doesn't really help her case either."

"I am the real Stella! Get your filthy hands off me!"

Her voice is shaking a little. She probably knows that she doesn't stand a chance against me. I tighten my grip on her. She lets out a pained cry.

"You dare try to escape and I won't hesitate to kill you."

The imposter hiccups in fear when she hears that. The fairies can't even say anything. I personally won't back down until she spits out the whole story.

"Why don't you drop the mask and show us who you really are?"

As I'm saying that, I pull on her head. Her eyes become teary. Stella's face then fades away and reveals her true identity.

"Darcy!"

Bloom and the others exclaim. They seem to know her. Now that I look at her more closely, she does look like one of those three witches back in Magix.

"What did you witches do to Stella?"

Darcy just whimpers. I use my magic to send an electric shock through her body. She cries out again.

"Alright! I'll tell you! Please, just let me go! It hurts!"

"Bring us to where Stella is first, and then I'll think about letting you go."

The girls go change out of their pajamas, and so do I. We then all set out in the direction Darcy points at. Of course, the whole time, I keep an eye on her, ready to catch her if she tries to escape.

After walking around in Magix, we reach a beautiful restaurant. Flora looks around and says that the plants feel strangely dead.

"You're right, Flora. The whole place feels a bit… off."

Bloom says while she also looks around.

"Darcy, what's the meaning of this? Another illusion?"

I adopt a threatening tone.

"Y-Yes… I'll undo it right now…"

Good. She's done resisting. This whole time she's been trying to escape. Of course, every time she tried, I'd punish her accordingly. She just can't take any more pain.

When she undoes the illusion spell, we're all greeted with the complete opposite of the previous scene. The beautiful restaurant turns out to be an old abandoned house. The trees and plants that looked so lively and beautiful are actually all dead.

"Why this whole charade, Darcy?"

I ask her, starting to get a bit pissed off, since I'm starting to get what this is all about.

"W-We wanted to trap Stella and… take the Ring of Solaria from her."

"Wait, so the whole date with Sky was just a set up?"

Musa also sounds annoyed. Who wouldn't be?

"Stella is in there, right?"

Tecna firmly asks. They're not as quiet as they were before. I hope this means that they're not too against my methods. I know I can be a bit harsh, but this is for Stella.

We all head inside the house.

"Stella!"

We all exclaim as we see her wrapped in some sort of magical rings, suspended above the ground.

"Icy, Stormy! Let her go!"

Bloom shouts at them. The two of them look unsettled. It's probably because they didn't expect their little friend to be captured.

"Darcy? How did they catch you?"

Stormy mocks her, but I still hear a hint of fear in her voice.

"Please! Get me out of here!"

Darcy really sounds desperate. Did I overdo it? Her cry makes Stormy and Icy frown.

"Hey, let Darcy go."

Icy tries to sound like she's in control of this situation. She isn't, though. I am.

"Let Stella go and I'll let Darcy go."

"Hmph! You think you're in any place to order us around? See Stella up there? Those rings will keep getting smaller and smaller until they squash her. So I suggest you let Darcy go and give us the Ring of Solaria if you want your little fairy friend to live to see another day."

This is getting really boring at this point. Does she really think a few rings made out of weak dark magic can stop me?

I quickly transform and fly to where Stella is. Before they could react, I absorb the dark magic within the rings, which makes them disappear. I then carry Stella back to our friends.

"What…?!"

"You're the ones in no position to order me around. Do you have any idea who you're dealing with? I could easily crush you right here and now if I wanted to, and trust me I want to."

The only thing really keeping me from doing so is the authorities. They're all Ankelons. I don't stand a chance against a bunch of them.

"I'll let you go this time. If you pull a stunt like that ever again, I won't be as nice."

I kick Darcy's back, sending her stumbling over to the other two witches. Her knees give in and she collapses on the floor, shaking violently. I then turn around, Stella still in my arms. The fairies and I then leave the abandoned house and head back to Alfea.

"That was insane…!"

Musa exclaims.

"You even got us scared, Onyx."

Bloom giggles. They… They're not mad at me? They're not afraid of me?

"I'm sorry… I was harsh on them…"

"Well I'd lie if I said they didn't deserve, but you were indeed pretty intense with them."

Tecna says in a calculated tone.

"Darcy might be scarred for life."

Flora calmly adds. I guess she might be… Oh well, I just hope I won't have to do this again. I don't particularly enjoy torturing people.

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 **Did I make her too much of a badass in this chapter? XD I personally loved writing this chapter haha! When it comes to torturing the Trix, it's always fun. Tell me what you think in the reviews :D And don't forget to tell me your opinion about Palladium POV**


	12. Special Chapter 1: Palladium's Thoughts

**Since it seems like you guys want it so badly, here's the first special chapter of Palladium's POV! Next one will be the second chapter which will cover the rest of where we're at in the story right now.**

 **I hope you guys like it, because I wrote it for you XD I never planned to actually have it in my story. You owe me! XDD I'm kidding, it was fun to write :D**

 **Enjoy :)**

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Special Chapter 1: Palladium's Thoughts

It's a new year. I'm excited to meet all of the new students coming in this year. I have to admit that I'm a bit nervous too. I look again through the student profiles that Headmistress Faragonda gave me. Most of the names are familiar. One profile in particular always catches my eye, though, every time I flip through them. Onyx. Headmistress Faragonda told us that we'd have a "special" student this year. An Ankelon. Never thought I'd be ever teaching one. They're usually up there, judging us without getting too involved. It seems like this one is actually a victim of that judging. I was told that she was a Dark Ankelon and that she needed to be purged into low-level Light magic. Apparently, those are the exact words that Anakoni, Infinite Castle's headmaster, said to Headmistress Faragonda when he asked to enrol Onyx. That poor kid must've been treated really unfairly back there. It could actually be a good thing for her to get out of there and come here.

The students should be arriving any hour now. I leave my office and join Professor DuFour who's observing from the window the students who are coming into the school.

"They all look so promising. They remind me of when I was still their age."

I nod at what she says.

"A new generation, a new hope."

Professor Wizgiz then joins us, transformed into one of his usual weird creatures. This causes Professor DuFour to faint.

"Professor Wizgiz you should refrain from scaring her like that."

I say jokingly to him. It's not the first time, really. She always falls for the same trick. When she regains her consciousness, we all go out and join Headmistress Faragonda and Griselda to greet the new students.

Headmistress Faragonda gives her usual speech to them, while Griselda warns them about not to do.

"Alright girls, go find your rooms and get to know your roommates. I'll see you all later."

Faragonda says to them. She then stops a girl with long black hair, very pale skin, and black eyes.

"And you must be Onyx, right?"

So that's Onyx? She does emanate a considerable amount of Dark magic. Strangely enough, though, it's not an aggressive aura.

"Yes, that's me."

She says to Faragonda, not daring to look her in the eyes. She does seem like she's… broken. How badly was she treated?

"Anakoni told me that you were… special."

"I'm sure he didn't use such kind words…"

As I thought. She must've been verbally abused quite often for what she is.

"Oh, it doesn't matter what he said. What matters is that you're here now. Follow me to my office, I'll brief you through how things work around here."

She follows us to Faragonda's office.

When we do, Headmistress Faragonda invites her to sit down across from her desk. She introduces all of us to her. I clear my throat when it's my turn to introduce myself to her.

"My name is Palladium. I teach fairies how to tune in with nature. I also teach Potionology, as well as casting charms. If you need any extra help in those areas, don't hesitate to come find me. I'd be glad to help."

"Nice to meet you."

She doesn't look me in the eyes either. I don't even think she's aware of it herself.

* * *

It's the first Potionology class that I'm giving this semester. It turns out to be the new students' class. I explain the curriculum to my students, who can't seem to concentrate very well on what I'm saying. At this point, I'm kind of used to it. There are a few that are actually listening to me. One of them is Onyx. She seems genuinely interested in what I'm saying. Now comes the practice part. I give them an easy assignment and monitor how they're doing. I just hope there won't be any explosions… Especially that Stella is in my class too.

Thankfully, no explosions occurred this time. However, not a lot of people actually succeeded the assignment. The only person who did it perfectly was Onyx. She looked like a natural.

Now I need to get to the Infirmary, since I'm on healing duty for the rest of the day. A bunch of fairies come to me, faking to be sick. I know very well they're faking it, but I just don't have the heart to turn them away.

After I finished up with the last fairy in the Infirmary, I sigh in exhaustion and sit back in the chair. Administering healing spells is quite draining. I just hope I'll have some time to rest before the next one…

As I am thinking that, I hear the door suddenly sliding open. Who is it this time…?

"Professor Palladium! We have an injured student here!"

It's Stella! And Onyx is with her? Her arms are bleeding a lot!

"Oh my, what happened here? Come sit down on this bed, Onyx. You can go back to class, Stella."

Stella leaves and I sit Onyx on one of the beds. I then sit in front of her on my chair and examine her arms.

"Let's see now… We have to get these glass shards out first. If you don't mind…"

I take her arm and hover my other hand on top of her wounds. The glass shards then all come out and go onto a metal plate on a nearby table. What could've caused this?

"Mind telling me how this happened?"

"It's a bit embarrassing, to be honest…"

She avoids my gaze.

"You can tell me. This might sting a bit."

I start wiping the blood with a cotton ball that's dabbed in alcohol. She doesn't even wince. She's the type to just keep it all in, isn't she…

"In Professor Wizgiz's class, we had a Metamorphosimbiosis exercise."

She starts telling me. Maybe she did want to get it off her chest.

"The one where you change your hair colour?"

"How did you know?"

"Haha, well he always starts off with that one."

She smiles. It's a shy smile. She looks so much better when she smiles.

"Yeah, instead of changing my hair colour, I ended up shattering the mirror instead."

"Is that what usually happens when you use your magic?"

"That's right… I've never been able to cause anything else but destruction."

I close up her wounds with my magic, then I let go of her arm.

"Destruction is just destruction. It's how you use it that defines whether it's good or bad. As far as I know, you're a very hardworking and honest person, Onyx."

"Professor…"

"Well, your arm is all better now. You should head back to class. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come see me. I believe our next class together is tomorrow. So, I'll see you then."

"Yes, sir."

She shouldn't feel bad about her magic. Whoever's been making her feel that way doesn't deserve any of her attention.

—

Today is the day of the annual Ball. The fairies have been working so hard all day to decorate and to get ready. They always get so excited when it involves the boys from Red Fountain.

As I watch the fairies levitating the objects around, I hear one of them shout.

"Watch out!"

I turn around to where the voice is coming and find Onyx with her hand up in a defensive way, shooting a black beam. It destroys everything in its way, even making a hole in the ceiling. She looks around in panic.

"What do we do now…"

"I knew it wasn't a good idea to have an Ankelon here…"

"Dark Ankelon? She's cursed for sure…"

"Why is she even here…"

The fairies' whispering is not helping. She seems to have heard them too, since she runs out the door.

"Onyx!"

I run after her. Even here… Even here there are people who make her feel bad about who she is. She doesn't deserve such treatment. Even though she's magically strong, she's actually very fragile. If someone doesn't reach out to, she might snap…

I turn around a corner and find her leaning her back on the wall, her head hanging low.

"There you are."

I stand in front of her. She lifts her head up, and, for the first time, our eyes meet for longer than a split second. She looks surprised to see me.

"Professor Palladium…!"

She then looks away.

"Don't be so harsh on yourself; it wasn't your fault."

She starts trying to control her breathing. She's on the verge of crying… It pains me to see her like that.

"I should've been more careful…"

I then put a hand on her shoulder, in a comforting way.

"Why don't we go back, Onyx?"

She shakes my head.

"They wouldn't want me to go back. No one would care if I never showed up, anyway."

"That's not true. I'm sure your friends would feel sad if you weren't there."

I'd be sad too.

"I'd do them more good if I just stayed in my room tonight."

"That's not true, Onyx."

She frowns.

"Let me go…! Please…"

Even though she's angry, she still contains it. I want her to open up… I want her to let her emotions flow freely. Tears start flowing down her cheeks.

"Onyx…"

I say softly. He then hands me a tissue. She doesn't take it. I'll just have to wipe them for her myself. When I do, her eyes widen a bit and more tears start flowing out.

"I can't keep up with all of it."

I say, a bit flustered. She chuckles and takes the tissue from my hand to wipe her tears.

"Do you want more time to calm down?"

"It's alright… I just don't know if I should go back."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll stay with you the whole time. Unless it's inconvenient then of course I'll-"

"I'd like that…"

Sh-She'd like that! That's great! I mean, as her teacher, I should be able to make her feel better. When we get there, her friends run up to her. They tell her that they completely understand that it was all an accident. After that, they leave to go check on someone.

"See? I told you they cared."

Onyx giggles.

"Thank you, Professor Palladium."

"You can call me Palladium when we're not in class."

"Alright, Palladium."

Now that I look more closely at her, she looks stunning tonight. Her black dress really compliments her figure- No! What am I thinking?! Why am I having such impure thoughts?! She's my student! I can't think like that.

"A-Aren't you going to go talk to the Red Fountain boys? I'm sure you can find someone nice to dance with."

"I'm not too interested in that… Besides, I'm not the most social of people. I doubt any of them would want anyone but a fairy anyway."

"I'm sure many of them would be honoured to dance with a pretty lady like you."

For some reason, even though I'm encouraging her to go socialize, I just want her to stay here with me.

"I'm… pretty?"

I feel my face heat up.

"A-Anyway, if you don't want to dance with them, I don't mind dancing with you instead, that is if you don't mind dancing with your Professor, of course… You don't have to agree just because I'm your teacher! I'm just saying that if you want-"

"Sure, I'd be honoured."

Honoured? To dance with me? I gulp. For some reason, I feel really happy right now.

"W-Well, shall we?"

I take her hand and put my other around her waist. I can't stop trembling. Her waist fits perfectly in my hand. She looks into my eyes and smiles shyly for a bit. Her habit then comes back and she avoids my gaze. I'm actually relieved she did, because I might've ended up kissing her if she looked at me any longer… No! I can't! This would be a huge scandal! It's just… immoral to fall for a student!

The music stops after a bit and both me and Onyx stop dancing. We then break away from each other and smile while avoiding each other's eyes. One of the Red Fountain boys announces something about a present they prepared for the fairies. They then start distributing golden eggs, and a random guy gives Onyx one too. She looks curiously at the egg.

"You're going to open it?"

"Yeah, it's just a curious little thing."

She tries to open it. When she does, a bunch of golden butterflies made of light escape. The disappointed look on her face makes me laugh. All the other girls are so happy about it. She really is quite different. In a good way.

"You don't seem impressed."

"You read right through me."

She says while shyly smiling. The music starts again.

"One more round?"

She says to me. How can I ever refuse?

"My pleasure."

This time, I'm more sure of himself, since it seems like she actually does want to dance with me. She's not avoiding my eyes at all now. It takes all my willpower not to kiss her. She just looks so beautiful… For the whole dance we don't take our eyes off each other and it feels… magical.

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 **So I was thinking of making these special chapters a thing. I'd write the story, and when I have enough content, I'll write a special chapter of Palladium's POV. Like I said, the next chapter will be the continuation of this POV which will cover the story up until now.**

 **Tell me in the reviews what you think of this new format. Thanks for reading :)**


	13. Special Chapter 2: Palladium's Thoughts

**I'm updating so fast! XD I just wanted to get the Special Chapters over with so that we can go on with the story after this. I mean, it is fun to write, but I don't think you guys want me to spend an eternity on those.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this one too :D**

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Special Chapter 2: Palladium's Thoughts

"Girls, in today's class, you need to learn to listen to the voice of nature."

As always, no one in the class is really paying much attention… I wish they would.

"Professor Palladium! A mosquito bit me!"

It's Francine again. Of course you'd get mosquito bites in a swamp…

"Yes, well we are near a swamp and it's only a mosquito, no big deal."

"But it bit me right here…"

Oh my! Sh-She's lifting her shorts up to high!

"Well… I… Uh… What I meant was…"

A few of the fairies laugh at me. This isn't my day either is it? I wish they'd show me some respect. At least Onyx is not laughing at me. She's actually frowning at Francine and her crew which makes them stop laughing. It makes me happy that there's a student looking out for me, but it kind of hurts my pride that I can't look out for myself. I should just get on with the assignment.

"No magic is allowed in this assignment. Remember to close your eyes and open your ears to the voice of nature."

I then cast a vanishing spell on myself, leaving them in the Black-Mud Swamp. I then teleport myself to the clearing of Gloomy-Wood forest since this is where our meeting point and the assignment's end is.

When I get there, I use my magic to have a clear view of everyone, so that I could evaluate them properly.

Most of them are doing great. No one's using magic either at this point. What's this? Onyx' team can't seem to hear the Voice of Nature? Flora says that nature is scared of Onyx. I sigh. Even nature misunderstands her.

Is that a Red Fountain airship? It's crashing! I should go help out… Oh! Onyx' group is already on their way. I guess they probably won't need me immediately. I'll interfere if any of them is in danger. It seems like they're setting out to find a creature that escaped from the Red Fountain boys. I shouldn't just focus on Onyx' team! The others also need me to evaluate them.

Some of the fairies actually sneak in a bit of magic to find their way. Well, if this were a real test, I'd fail them. Of course, they think it's a real test, which makes their actions all the worse.

It seems like Onyx' team is encountering the Quietous Carnivorous. Flora knows they hate noise, but Stella still doesn't heed her warning and gets the plant angry. Onyx doesn't seem amused by it. She's actually threatening the plant. For some reason she looks really adorable doing that.

After a quick check on the other teams, I check back on Onyx's team. They're crossing a river by jumping over slabs of earth. This could be dangerous… I'll interfere if something happens. Oh no! One of the Red Fountain boys lost his footing. Onyx jumps after him. The current is too strong, they could both drown! I have to do something before… Onyx! She transforms and gets them both out. I know I said no magic is allowed, but I'm glad she used it. It's good to have a mind of your own and not blindly follow rules and orders. Besides, she looks stunning…

A lot of fairies start to arrive at our meeting place. Lastly, Onyx' team arrives in the Red Fountain ship, since it was getting pretty late. They come face to face with me. For some reason, Onyx is avoiding my eyes completely.

"You girls are finally here, I see. Congratulations to everyone for completing this assignment. I must say that I am impressed with some of you, while I am disappointed with others. Nonetheless, I have decided not to put a grade on this assignment, but to keep it as an exercise. Class is dismissed. Let us all return to Alfea, now."

I then turn to Onyx. I want to congratulate her on how well she did, but doing that in front of the other students might create some misunderstandings; especially that she broke the rules of the assignment.

"I'd like to see you in my office after this, Onyx."

When we get back to Alfea, I go straight to my office. I have so many things to do… After a few hours, I hear someone knock on the door. Who could that be? I should clean up to make place for whoever it is.

"Come in!"

I look to see who it is and I immediately smile when I see Onyx. What is she doing here? Not that I'm complaining or anything.

"Onyx! Go sit in the chair; I'll be right with you."

I put away the stuff in my hands while she sits down. I then go sit at my desk.

"So, what brings you here, Onyx?"

"Didn't you tell me to come to your office after the assignment?"

I did…? I did! I'm such an airhead sometimes.

"Oh yes! That's right! I'm sorry it completely slipped my mind. Yes, so I called you here to talk about your performance in the assignment."

She nods at me while smiling. Her smile then disappears.

"You're disappointed, aren't you, Professor?"

I widen my eyes.

"Disappointed? Why would I be?"

She did so great in that exercise.

"Well, I used magic when you specifically said that it wasn't allowed…"

"You really think I'd be upset about that?"

She blinks a few times at me. She can really be adorable sometimes.

"You're… not?"

"Not at all, that was a matter of life or death. If you hadn't jumped in to rescue your friends, I would've."

She sighs in relief. She actually thought I called her to my office because I wanted to criticize and reprimand her. That's probably all that the Ankelons did to her.

"I think that was the first time I've seen a Dark Ankelon transformation. It was pretty impressive."

"Impressive?"

She hangs her head low after hearing that. Did I say something wrong?

"Of course. Is something wrong?"

"I… no one has ever said anything positive about it."

I guess that makes me the first one. I kind of feel happy at the thought, even though it isn't something good that no one has ever complimented her on that before.

"But it's such a beauti-… No! I mean it's a very… umm… good transformation! Yes!"

I then instinctively scratch the back of my head and start looking around while laughing nervously. How could I even let that slip up like that?

"Th-Thank you, Professor Palladium."

"I told you that you can call me P-Palladium outside of class."

We're both stuttering. Did I just make things really awkward? She seems happy, though. She gets up. Why is she getting up?

"You're leaving already?"

"Yeah, my next class is soon."

"Oh… Alright, it's good to be a… well good student. If you ever need any help for any of your classes, don't hesitate to come and talk to me. Of course, if… if you need anything else, I'm also always happy to help."

She giggles and nods.

"Thank you Palladium."

She then leaves the office. I wish we had more time together. My heart can't seem to stop beating so fast. But she's my student! I can't feel like that towards her… It's not right. I lean on my desk and burry my face in one of my hands. This is really… painful for some reason.

The next day, during class, I announce that they'll be having a pop quiz today. Right then, one of the students starts moaning in pain. Of course there'd be at least one that does that trick… Worst is that all the other students are now pressuring me to take her to the Infirmary. Alright, you win again…

She dramatically and excessively leans on me for support.

"Take it easy, Anabelle, we're almost there."

She still keeps whining. I reach to open the door of the Infirmary.

"It hurts… I really don't feel so good, Professor."

"Alright, alright. I'll take care of you. Just hang in there until we reach the Infirmary."

We get into the Infirmary and I sit her down on the bed. I notice someone else in the room. I turn around and see… Onyx! Is she hurt?

"Ah, Onyx! Did something happen? Did you hurt yourself?"

I rush to Onyx to see what's wrong

"No, it's nothing. I just need a bandage."

She then immediately turns away from me. She looks upset. What happened? She then gets a bandage from the first-aid kit and wraps her finger. She is hurt!

"Onyx, let me see."

"It's alright. I have to hurry back to the kitchen, everyone's probably waiting."

She hurries out of the Infirmary. Why? She seems so distant all of a sudden. Maybe this is just a wakeup call for me. It's to tell me that nothing can or should ever happen between a student and her teacher. I should've known that from the start, but I still let my weak self fall into all of this. It doesn't matter anymore. I'm nothing more than her teacher, and she is nothing more than my student.

* * *

 **If you liked it, tell me. If you didn't like it, also tell me. XD Just tell me! I wanna know! What's even more fun than writing for me is reading your reviews! I get so excited when I get a notification that someone reviewed. I mean, I also love it when you follow and favourite, but when you review I can take your opinion into consideration. If I didn't get the review for Palladium's POV, I would've never done it.**

 **So review! XD I really love reading and replying to your reviews.**


	14. Half-Hearted Success

**I hope you guys like this one! It was kind of hard to find a way to follow the story when the witches weren't exactly successful in stealing Stella's ring. That originally resulted in the Winx going to Cloud Tower, but, in this case they have no reason to. That also resulted in them being punished by Faragonda and Griselda, suspending their magic and not allowing them to go to some concert. Anyway, a lot of things were prevented from happening, but I was able to hopefully still make it interesting XD**

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Chapter 12: Half-Hearted Success

"But why do these witches want your ring so badly, Stella?"

Bloom asks her. It's been a few days since the incident where the witches kidnapped Stella. They haven't tried anything else since. Let's hope it stays that way. It is odd though how far they'll go just to get that ring.

"I don't know! Maybe because it's so powerful?"

"I don't think that's it, Stella…"

Bloom sighs. I don't know why she's been so preoccupied with this. I mean, I''m also curious about it, but I don't care to know as much. Bloom has actually been spending a lot of time in the library trying to figure it out.

"And what about the Dragon Flame? It looks like it's related to the Ring of Solaria."

The Dragon Flame? Now that's new. She must've just found out about that. I do know a bit about the Dragon Flame, but I don't want to give her any false information, in case I'm wrong. Ankelons kind of like to twist facts up to make themselves look more powerful. I am pretty sure that the Great Dragon wasn't the pet of some Light Ankelon. I am willing to believe that they both worked together in the creation of the planets, though.

"Headmistress Faragonda can probably answer that for you. Why don't you go see her?"

Flora softly says Bloom.

"I guess you're right. I'll go see if she's in her office."

Bloom leaves the room in a hurry.

"Doesn't it seem strange how she's almost desperate to know more about all this? I mean, it's my ring and I don't exactly care about the origins of its power."

"Let's hope she finds the answers she's looking for."

Flora says as she gets up.

"Well, I'm off for my next class. I'll see you guys later."

Speaking of class, my next one is with Professor Wizgiz. Stella and Bloom also have the same class. Apparently, today we're going to learn how to transform a butterfly into a bird. This is the first time we work with living creatures and I'm really nervous I might end up making the butterfly explode instead of transform… Musa and Tecna both head to their respective classes as well, leaving me and Stella waiting for Bloom to come back.

After a bit of waiting and listening to Stella brag about Brandon, Bloom finally comes in. She seems deep in thought. Whatever Miss Faragonda told her is making her even more preoccupied than before.

"Bloom? Earth to Bloom!"

Stella tries to call out to her.

"Bloom!"

Her final shout finally startled Bloom out of her pensive trance.

"Oh! Yeah, what is it?"

"I should be the one asking that. You've been acting like a troubled zombie ever since you walked in!"

"Sorry, Stella… It's just that I have a lot on my mind right now."

"Well, get them out of your mind since we have a class now. And if we don't go soon, we're going to be late!"

Stella says as she pulls both me and Bloom by the arms.

We arrive in Professor Wizgiz' class and go to our seats. First, he gives a lecture about how transforming a living being can be difficult and that it requires a lot of concentration. We are then each given a glass box with a butterfly fluttering around inside.

"Alright, girls. Focus your magic and transform your butterfly into any kind of bird you wish, as long as it's a bird."

Time to do this… Don't kill the butterfly, Onyx. Don't chatter the glass box. I concentrate my magic in the goal of transforming the butterfly. A black cloud immediately envelops it. Oh no… This black smoke never means a good thing… Wait… Right when I'm thinking that I failed at the exercise, wings sprout from the cloud. Black bony wings. The cloud dissipates to reveal a black bird with red eyes. It has an exposed rib cage and a red beak. I've read about his kind of bird before.

"Oh my, a Volantus Mortifur! Well, at least you passed it, Onyx, but we need to get rid of this bird at once or it will suck the magic out of whoever it touches until they… well die."

The fairies then start mumbling worriedly amongst each other. I've read about this bird before. I've never actually seen it before, though. It kind of fascinates me. Such a small bird can be so dangerous. Apparently, it has been chased away, hunted, and even killed by people and other magical beings, since they were so afraid of them. They're basically almost extinct…

"Let me try to transform it back to a butterfly."

Professor Wizgiz puts his hand on the glass cube and concentrates his magic. As soon as he does that, however, the bird starts thrashing around and pecking at the glass, slowly making a dent in it. The professor then immediately pulled away.

"It's sucking the magic I'm using to dispel the transformation! Onyx, do you think you can do something about it? You have more power than me."

I lower my gaze to the bird. For some reason, I really don't want to get rid of it. I can't dispel anything, so I'll probably end up killing it trying. But I guess I have no choice… I put my hand on the cube.

"I'm sorry…"

I whisper to it so that no one else hears me. In a flash, the bird is reduced to ash. Professor Wizgiz then congratulates me on being able to succeed in this exercise and dismisses the class. I'm unable to feel happy about it, though. I really didn't want to kill that bird. It is certainly a powerful and dangerous bird, but maybe it was just misunderstood. It sucked magic to survive and protect itself. People seem to always be afraid of what's different or stronger than them.

Stella, Bloom, and I head back to the dorm. The whole way, they kept congratulating me, since this is the first time that I'm able to actually perform what Professor Wizgiz wanted. I just thank them and smile half-heartedly. Getting rid of that bird kind of destroyed my mood.

Back at the dorm, the girls talk about a concert happening tonight. Apparently everyone in Alfea is going.

"Let's get ready, girls! It's going to be awesome!"

Everyone gets up and goes to their respective room after Stella's excited outburst. I follow Stella back in our room. Instead of getting ready, though, I lie down on my bed.

"Come on, Onyx, there's no time to take a nap!"

"I'm not going, Stella."

Stella's eyes widen and she rushes up to me.

"What? Why? It's going to be so fun!"

"I just… Don't feel too good."

I'm really not in the party mood at all. I'd rather just stay here and sort out my thoughts. After a bit of whining and attempts to convince me, Stella gives up.

"Alright… We'll tell you how it goes and show you pictures, okay?"

I smile at her and nod. I really do have great friends. Everyone leaves when it's finally time for the concert, leaving me alone in the whole school. I think I'm going to wander around instead of staying cooped up in my room.

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 **Tell me what you think in the reviews! I'll try to update soon :D**


	15. Ambushed

**I'm so sorry I took so long to update! I hope this chapter is going to make up for the long wait...**

 **Enjoy :D**

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Chapter 13: Ambushed

It's already dark out. Who would've thought that the bright halls of Alfea would look so lonely when no one's walking through them. I let out a heavy sigh. What am I doing? The girls are probably disappointed that I didn't join them. I go sit on the edge of one of the closed windows. I start daydreaming while looking at the stars. For some reason, the first image that I see in my mind is Professor Palladium. I feel my cheeks heating up. I quickly shake my head, trying to get rid of these thoughts. Why am I thinking about him? He's my teacher, it's completely weird to feel such weird feelings towards him. Besides, he's probably nice to me because he pities me. No other reason behind it.

I should do something to keep my mind from imagining such weird things. I wander around and find myself in the entrance hall, empty just like everything else. Completely deserted, completely silent…

 _Crash!_

I instinctively turn around towards where the sound came from. What was that? It sounded like something shattering. I thought I was the only one here.I frown slightly, slowly and carefully making my way to the cafeteria, where the sound seems to have come from. I open the door, looking left and right. Nothing's here. As soon as I step further in, I hear a blunt noise, and a sharp pain courses through my body. My vision blurs and fades. Someone… hit me on the head… but who…?

I open my eyes. My head is pounding like crazy. I try to get up, but, for some reason, my limbs won't respond. No… it's not that they won't respond, it's that they can't! I move my head to look at my current position. I'm tied up and lying on the floor. My mouth is also gagged. I feel panic starting to rise. Where am I? Who did this? Looking around, it seems that I'm still in the cafeteria.

"So, you're awake?"

A malicious voice comes from behind me. I recognize it… Icy! These three witches are behind it then… If I just hadn't let my guard down.

"It seems even a great almighty Ankelon can't do anything if they're tied up, haha."

Stormy laughs in a cruel manner. Whatever they plan to do with me won't be good. I need to find a way to get out of this situation. I can't perform any spells with my hands bound like this. And I can't even use my mouth to incant anything. Maybe I can loosen the rope… I try to move my hands around. That's when I feel a blow to my stomach. I let out a muffled cough. One of them just kicked me…

"Don't think we'll let you go that easy."

Her voice was full of hatred. Darcy… I did torture her quite a bit. She probably plans on making me feel much more pain than I made her feel.

"Hey, how about we make this even more frightening for you?"

Darcy said as she pulled on my hair, bringing my head up. I wince in pain. Then, something is put on my eyes and tied behind my head. Blindfold? I see… The darkness will make me fear the unknown. And it is… scary. It's really scary. I don't know what they'll do to me. I just want to get out of here. I feel tears coming out of my eyes and being absorbed by the cloth that is blocking my vision.

I hear their cruel laughs. Then a blow comes. And another. They kick me, punch me, and all I can do is let out muffled cries.

"Since we can't use our magic around you, we'll just get creative with whatever we have here."

I don't even know anymore who's the one who said that. I'm just too much in pain to even concentrate on that. I then hear glass breaking.

"I think that's sharp enough."

More laughing. They probably broke something. Are they planning to use something sharp on me? No, please. I'm so scared. Someone, please help me. Professor… Palladium… More tears fall as I think of Professor Palladium. I… I just want to see Palladium…

"Let's see… Where to carve your sickeningly white skin first?"

I start breathing in and out irregularly, my breath being broken by hiccups and sobs. They'll pay… They'll all pay! I'll kill them! I feel rage and hatred welling up inside of me alongside of my fear. The frustration of not being able to do anything makes my body shake and tremble. I start getting cold sweat which makes me shiver. Saliva is running down my mouth from all the blows they inflicted on me.

"I think the face should be the most obvious place."

I don't know when they'll strike, when they'll start cutting through my flesh. The seconds feel like hours. Palladium… Help me…

"What do you think you're doing?!"

What…? Am I… dreaming? This voice…

"Huh?"

Icy seems surprised.

"How dare you lay a hand on my student…"

It is…! Professor Palladium! But… how?

"Hey, I thought everyone was at the concert!"

"Well they should've all been at the concert."

"We're in trouble…"

The witches sound like they weren't expecting to find anyone here. I wasn't expecting to find anyone here either. But I'm still so happy he's here… I hear the witches let out a surprised cry. I also hear objects clashing. Professor Palladium probably blew them away with a magic spell. Steps get closer to me. Who is it? Professor Palladium? The witches?

I feel fingers brush past my cheeks. I instinctively fidget in fear.

"It's alright, Onyx. It's me."

Professor… His voice is so soft and soothing. He takes off my blindfold and proceeds to undo my other bindings.

"Oh no! He's setting her free!"

"We have to get out of here."

Palladium helps me up on my feet. I then turn around to see the witches try to escape. I feel even more rage at seeing their faces. They will pay. As soon as I start making my way to where they are, I feel a hand on my wrist, stopping me from going further. Professor Palladium?

"Onyx, don't. I'll make sure they're dealt with in the proper manner. You shouldn't involve yourself in this."

"But…!"

I wince in pain as I force that word out of my mouth. They really did a number on me. The witches escape. I let out a frustrated groan.

"Onyx… You're hurt. What's more important right now is to take care of these wounds."

I look at the ground and feel my tears overflowing. It's no good; I can't stop.

"Oh Onyx…"

I feel his arms wrap around me. I cry even harder as I burry my head into his shoulder.

"I… I was so scared…"

He doesn't say anything and just caresses my head soothingly.

"Professor Palladium… thank you…"

"I should've been here sooner… Don't worry, Onyx. I'll make sure they get proper punishment for what they did to you. This… is unforgivable."

For the first time, I felt actual anger in his voice. He was mad for my sake. He cared so much for me. Do I really only see him as a teacher? I want him to be more than that. I want to be closer to him. I… I love him.

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 **So what did you guys think? Was it too much? Not enough? XD I don't know, just tell me in the reviews what you thought of this chapter!**

 **Thanks for reading :)**


	16. Special Chapter 3: Palladium's Thoughts

**So sorry I took so long! But here's another Special Chapter! If you guys get sick of those, I'll stop making them :D But if you like it, then I'll keep it up XD**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

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Special Chapter 3: Palladium's Thoughts

Professor Wizgiz has been telling me about how his class today was quite unique.

"Oh man, it was a sight I tell you."

"Are you actually going to tell me what happened?"

Wizgiz coughs to clear his throat as he prepares to tell me about everything.

"You know that Ankelon girl?"

As soon as he says that, I feel my heart squeeze a bit. I'm a bit worried by what he's going to tell me.

"Yes of course I know her."

"Good. Well today I had them do the exercise where they had to transform a butterfly into a bird."

That exercise again. He makes his students do it every year. Was Onyx able to do it?

"So what happened that was so unusual?"

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there! So most of the fairies were able to do it, of course. I was then expecting Onyx to have some difficulties as usual, but I didn't expect to be faced with such a terrifying sight!"

"Terrifying?"

He's exaggerating again… I don't like the word terrifying to be in the same sentence as Onyx, though.

"Against all my expectations, she was able to transform the butterfly into a bird!"

"That's great!"

I don't get why he's so horrified by that.

"No! It's not! The bird wasn't… normal."

"What do you mean?"

Now I'm anxious again.

"It was a Volantus Mortifur!"

My eyes widened at hearing the name. That's a dangerous bird! And very rare at that. It's actually quite amazing that she was able to transform a butterfly into such an incredible creature.

"What did you do with it?"

"Oh we had to get rid of it, of course! But I just couldn't do it myself, since it would've sucked all of my magic."

"Don't tell me, you…"

He didn't ask Onyx to get rid of it herself… right? That would've probably broken her heart. Especially since it's the first exercise she actually succeeds. And on top of that, it was her creature. She created it.

"It was a tough decision, but I had Onyx destroy it. She was the only one who could do it."

"Professor Wizgiz…"

I'm speechless. How could he make her do such a thing? I hope she's alright.

The day goes by and I teach my usual classes. Tonight there's a concert happening. Everyone, including the teachers, is going. I'm sure the girls will enjoy it. It'll also help Onyx get her mind off things a bit.

I join the other teachers and head to the concert hall. We join the excited fairies and wait for the star to appear. I look around, hoping to maybe find Onyx. I spot the girls that she shares her dorm with. Bloom, Stella, Tecna, and Musa. That's strange. Onyx is always with them. It'd be weird if I asked them about her, though. They might get the wrong idea… I should just be her teacher, after all. As a teacher, I shouldn't involve myself in her personal life too much. The girls look somewhat worried, though. They're much less enthusiastic than the other fairies. I get closer and listen in on their conversation.

"This would be even more exciting if Onyx wasn't feeling so down…"

Bloom sighs. Is Onyx alright? I'm getting worried.

"Yeah, that bird thing is really getting to her. Can't believe she decided to skip on the biggest concert of the galaxy because of it!"

"Come on, Stella. It probably hurt her more than we realize."

"Flora's right. She's definitely the type to keep everything bottled in."

What Tecna says is very true. I thought I was nothing more than her teacher, and here I am… Eavesdropping on her friends' conversation to find out if she's alright. She probably stayed behind and tried to deal with her negative feelings all by herself. Why can't she just open up and rely on someone? No… It's not her fault. I should be more there for her. That's it. I'll be the person that she can rely on. Who cares about this concert anyway? Onyx is much more important right now.

With a determined mind, I leave the concert hall and head back to Alfea. When I get there, I start feeling very uneasy. An unwanted presence is here… I go inside the school building. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. Then, I feel it. Dark, negative energy. Someone is here. Someone other than Onyx. A feeling of dread starts rising within me. Onyx. She's in danger.

I run in and start following the dark aura. I finally get in front of the cafeteria doors. That's when I start hearing cold malicious voices.

"Let's see… Where to carve your sickeningly white skin first?"

What? Don't tell me! I quickly reach for the doorknob.

"I think the face should be the most obvious place."

I barge inside. What I see then fills me with an indescribable rage.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Onyx, my precious student, is tied up and lying on the ground, her eyes blindfolded. Her body seems to have suffered many injuries.

"Huh?"

My eyes then shift to her attackers. Three witches. They must be from Cloud Tower.

"How dare you lay a hand on my student…"

Such a cruel thing… I can't forgive this.

"Hey, I thought everyone was at the concert!"

"Well they should've all been at the concert."

"We're in trouble…"

I lift my hands and blast them all with a strong light attack. They are then sent flying into the tables and chairs behind them. I then immediately run to where Onyx is. Seeing her like this… It breaks my heart.

I slowly and gently reach for the blindfold. When my hands brush past her cheeks, she instinctively flinches.

"It's alright, Onyx. It's me."

What did they make her go through? There are bruises all over her body. As gently as I can, I undo her bindings and take off her blindfold.

"Oh no! He's setting her free!"

"We have to get out of here."

I help Onyx get up on her feet. She's trembling… She then turns around towards the witches who are starting to escape. Her face looks really angry. If she wants to, she can easily kill them. I don't even understand how they captured her like that.

Onyx starts going after them. I can't let her do that. I hold her wrist firmly, keeping her from going any further.

"Onyx, don't. I'll make sure they're dealt with in the proper manner. You shouldn't involve yourself in this."

"But…!"

She winces in pain after saying that one word. She's in a pretty bad state right now. The witches escape. Onyx lets out a frustrated groan.

"Onyx… You're hurt. What's more important right now is to take care of these wounds."

Onyx drops her head low as I say that. Then I notice… She's crying. It breaks my heart to see her in so much pain and sadness.

"Oh Onyx…"

I wrap my arms around her. She cries even harder as she buries her head in my shoulder.

"I… I was so scared…"

I gently caress her beautiful hair, not knowing what to say. I just want her to feel better. I want her to lean on me. I want to protect her.

"Professor Palladium… thank you…"

"I should've been here sooner… Don't worry, Onyx. I'll make sure they get proper punishment for what they did to you. This… is unforgivable."

Onyx… How dare they do that to her? How dare they do that to my Onyx? My Onyx…

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 **Thank you for reading! How do you like it? That last part though, hehehe :D FINALLY! Am I right? XD**


	17. The Day of the Rose

**Alright! I took so long to write this... I'm really sorry! It was holidays time and all Christmas and New Years for me took all of my time. On the same note, Happy New Year everyone! I hope it's filled with happiness for you and your loved ones :)**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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Chapter 14: The Day of the Rose

It's been a few days since the incident. I haven't seen the witches since, and that's the only thing that's keeping them alive right now. Next time I see them, they're in for a world of pain. I don't even care about the consequences at this point. Apparently, Faragonda sent a letter to Cloud Tower's headmistress, demanding her to take disciplinary action concerning the three witches. I bet she won't do a thing about it.

These days, every time I see professor Palladium, my heart starts beating really fast. Yeah, I'm aware that I like him more than a teacher, and that's a problem. Student teacher relationships are not appropriate in a school environment. As if I'd ever be in a relationship with him… It's probably one-sided anyway.

"You're already awake, Onyx?"

Stella yawns and stretches her arms as she gets out of bed.

"Yeah. Did you sleep well?"

She nods as she stretches some more.

"Are you going somewhere today?"

She asks me. Oh yeah… Today is the Day of the Rose. The day we're supposed to celebrate our mothers. Too bad mine doesn't even consider me her child.

"No, I won't be going anywhere. You?"

"Me neither."

We change and get out to say goodbye to Flora and Tecna who are both going back to their home planets. On the way out, we see that everyone else is also leaving.

"Hey, Onyx!"

I turn towards Professor Palladium who's heading towards me with his luggage.

"Professor…"

I feel a bit awkward around him… But I should at least properly face him before he goes.

"I just uh… wanted to say goodbye before leaving."

"Yeah… Bye…"

"Are you going to see your mother too?"

I shake my head, not really knowing how to answer.

"Oh. Do you… want to talk about it?"

"It's okay. You should go spend time with your mother while you can."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then."

I smile and wave at him while he leaves and waves back.

I head back inside with Stella, Bloom and Musa and we head for the cafeteria to eat breakfast. There's literally only the four of us.

"You're not going to see your parents back on Earth, Bloom?"

Stella asks her while putting some jam onto a piece of toast.

"You might think this is silly of me, but… I just feel like I'll be even more homesick if I go back for just one day."

Understandable, I guess.

"How about you guys? Why did you decide to stay here?"

After swallowing a bite of her sandwich, Stella took the liberty to answer Bloom's question first.

"Well, the King and Queen of Solaria haven't exactly been on good terms recently… When I go back to visit, it feels as though I'm unwanted in the middle of their bickering. I'd rather just spend my time in peace."

"That must be horrible…"

Bloom answers with concern.

"Enough about that. What about you, Onyx? Why are you staying?"

How should I even begin to explain…? I should just keep it concise.

"My parents don't exactly consider me their child, with me being a dark Ankelon and all."

"What? How can they even do that?!"

Stella retorts in indignation.

"What about you, Musa?"

I ask her, hoping to get the attention away from myself.

"Oh… I just don't have a mom. I mean, I lost her when I was still very little."

"Oh Musa, I'm so sorry."

Bloom says as she pats her friend's back. Seeing such a usually cheerful person being so sad makes me feel sad as well. It must've been really hard on Musa.

After finishing up with breakfast, Stella invites us to go attend the festival in downtown Magix. Bloom decides to tag along while Musa says she isn't in the mood. I'm not a party person either so I decide to stay as well.

After the girls leave, Musa and I part ways, wanting to each spend some alone time. I head to the library, trying to keep my mind off of things. The Day of the Rose… It would be nice to have someone to celebrate. I wonder if my mother ever once felt love for me after finding out what I am. No, no! I came to the library to get my mind off things!

…This isn't working. I should've just gone with the girls. If I go now, I should make it on time to watch the end of the bike race that the Specialists are participating in. Might as well, I guess. Anything is better than to get depressed because of my negative thoughts.

I head out as soon as I can and take the bus to Magix. I can already see the festive decorations from far. Balloons and roses everywhere. It brings a small smile to my face. When I arrive, I walk to where there's a big crowd. That must be where the race is. That's when I start hearing people's chattering.

"What's going on with the race?"

"There's a fairy flying on the tracks!"

"Was this all planned or something?"

By the time I make it to the front, I start to understand what the fuss is all about.

"Bloom?"

Bloom is in her fairy form, flying after one of the riders who's helmet is going haywire. Just as his bike crashes and he's sent flying in the opposite direction, another rider catches him. It looks like it's a woman. Her long hair is familiar… It's the same as Darcy's. But what would she be doing here?

When the race ends, I see Stella running to Bloom. Brandon and Sky, who were both in the race, also catch up with them. The one who's helmet was going haywire turns out to be Riven. And… The female rider is Darcy! As soon as I see her, my blood starts to boil. I immediately jump over the bar separating the crowd from the race tracks and run to where everyone's gathered. Stella's the first one to spot me.

"Onyx! You're here!"

As soon as Darcy hears my name, her eyes widen and she hurriedly stands behind Riven.

"You."

I say in a low menacing voice. Just as I am getting closer, Riven blocks me.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

"What do YOU think you're doing?!"

"Darcy here saved my life and I can clearly see that you mean her harm! I won't let you get any closer to her!"

My eyes widen in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? I'm not letting that witch go!"

Riven, looking a lot angrier than usual, grabs me by my collar.

"I said back off!"

I frown menacingly at him.

"Let go of me."

"H-Hey, guys! Let's all calm down now."

Sky says as he tries to break us up. Riven shoves me away.

"Watch it!"

Stella yells at him as she helps me keep my balance.

"Tch. If anyone is to blame for all of this it's Bloom! She's the one who gave me that helmet! She tricked me! All she wanted to do was to give her Brandon a chance at winning!"  
"That's not true! I didn't do that! I didn't know! Timmy gave me that helmet-"

"Timmy? Enough with the lies! Timmy's gone to his home-world for the day!"

"Riven!"

Brandon stands between him and Bloom.

"What? Now you're taking her side? I'm the victim here!"

"No! That's not what I meant! I just think we should listen to what Bloom has to say."

"Forget it! I'm done with you losers and your pixies! And you better stay away from Darcy, you creep!"

He yells that last part at me before heading off with Darcy. This whole situation is just odd and irritating. I ask Bloom about what happened and she tells me all the details. From what she's saying, I'm assuming that Darcy and the witches tricked her into giving Riven a dysfunctional helmet. To what purpose though? All they succeeded in doing is tricking Riven into thinking that they're the good guys. If you ask me, then good riddance. But then again, if Musa finds out, she'll be quite sad about it. Especially since it seems that Riven's falling for Darcy. And here was my chance to take my revenge on her, too…

The girls and I head back to Alfea after parting ways with the Specialists. When we get there, I notice that some people are already back. I wonder if… probably not. Why am I even thinking that? It's not like he'll want to see me as soon as he comes back. Professor Palladium would probably want to relax and prepare for his classes tomorrow. I shouldn't even be having such thoughts about my teacher. He's just my teacher. He should be just my teacher…

Anyway, let's just head to the library again.

"Oh! Onyx!"

I turn around, fully recognizing the voice. I feel a smile forming on my face. I can't even control it!

"Professor Palladium! You're back?"

He's also smiling brightly.

"Yes, I just got back. Are you heading to the library?"

"I am."

"May I join you?"

I nod shyly. I'll be very happy if he joins me. What a nice coincidence. We both head to the library while making small talk about how our days went. I omit the event about Darcy and Riven, not wanting to worry him. Maybe I'll tell him later.

There's no one but us in the library. For some reason, it makes me a bit nervous. It's not like it's the first time that I'm alone with Professor Palladium, but it feels different this time somehow.

"What kind of books do you come to read here, Onyx?"

He says as he looks through one of the shelves.

"Well, I mostly read some books about light magic."

He turns his head towards me. Our eyes meet and I immediately look at the floor, not able to maintain eye contact.

"Is that what you enjoy reading?"

I hesitate a bit before shaking my head.

"What do you enjoy reading then?"

"Um…mostly occult books."

"It's hard to find that here, isn't it?"

I nod.

"Come with me. I'll show you a section that's usually off-limits to students unless they have special authorization."

I follow him, eager to see where he leads me. We go up some stairs and arrive at a locked room. Using some magic, Professor Palladium opens the door, leading the way in. As soon as I step inside the room, I feel an overflow of dark magic. It feels familiar and close, unlike light magic which feels foreign and distant to me.

"This… Can I really read these books?"

I turn to Professor Palladium, awaiting his confirmation.

"Of course you can. Besides, you'd probably understand these better than anyone else here."

"Thank you so much, Professor Palladium!"

"I told you to just call me Palladium when we're not in class."

I giggle at him.

"This is the happiest I've seen you so far, Onyx."

He smiles at me.

"I'm just so grateful…"

Palladium pats my head affectionately.

"Onyx, don't force yourself to be someone you're not. You're amazing just the way you are and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."

These words… For some reason they touch me deeply. Especially that today is the day when I'm supposed to celebrate my mother. One of the people who doesn't want me to be myself… Tears start flowing down my cheeks. I bring my hands up to try to dry them up.

"I-I'm sorry! It just happened all of a sudden-!"

Before I could say more, I feel Palladium's warm arms wrapping around me, bringing me close to his chest. The hug just makes my tears fall down more. I'm both happy and sad. We stay like this for while, without any of us saying a word.

* * *

 **What did you guys think? Tell me in the reviews :D**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	18. Lost Control

**Here's a bit of a longer chapter to apologize for the long wait XD I hope you guys enjoy!**

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Chapter 15: Lost Control

Darkness. Nothing but darkness. I'm used to it, though. It's who I am.

There's a small light in the distance. What is it? I feel so drawn to it.

"Onyx…"

That voice…!

"Palladium!"

He's here! Is he that light? I extend my hand to the light, desperately trying to reach him. I start running towards him. The more I run, the farther he gets.

"No! Palladium! Don't go!"

I need you! Please…

Darkness. The light is gone. Palladium is gone. Once again, I am left in pure darkness. But this time… I'm scared. I'm scared of the darkness. I'm scared of being alone. I want that light back! Palladium!

"Onyx!"

I open my eyes and find Flora shaking me by the shoulders.

"Huh…?"

I rub my eyes, trying to understand what's going on. So… it was a dream.

"Onyx! Get up! It's an emergency!"

This is not the first time that Flora's barged into our room to wake both Stella an I up. I bet it has something to do with Bloom.

"Guys! Bloom is doing it again!"

Stella yawns and collapses back on her bed.

"Doing what?"

She says all groggily. Flora then drags me and Stella back to her and Bloom's room. When we do get there, we witness Bloom mumbling and shaking in her bed.

"You see? She's talking to someone in her sleep."

Flora worriedly whispers to us.

"That's not so unusual. She's probably just having a nightmare or something."

A nightmare, huh… I hope I didn't say anything weird during my nightmare.

"You don't understand! This is no ordinary nightmare!"

Flora exclaims as she pulls the covers off Bloom. That's when we see her glowing.

"She's transforming in her sleep!"

Stella's right. Bloom is transforming back and forth in her sleep. How's that possible?

"We should do something! Maybe we should go get the others or the nurse! Miss Griselda or even Miss Faragonda!"

Flora's panicking. And that means that Stella's going to get pissed at her.

"Cool it, Flora! It's not like she's dying!"

"Shhh! You'll wake her up!"

I hush at Stella, but it's too late. Bloom's already awake.

"What are you guys doing here? Again?"

I swear, it's always the same scenario lately. Flora panics, gets Stella and I, Stella complains, Bloom wakes up from how loud we are, and…

"What is it this time, guys?"

Musa and Tecna wake up from the noise too. Since we all have classes the next day, we all decide to go back to sleep for the few remaining hours. Bloom denies that she's having nightmares. She says that they're more like visions. Never had those myself, so I wouldn't really know. Nightmares, on the other hand, I've had plenty of those. Way too many to count. Like last one. Is Palladium really that much on my mind?

The next morning, we all wake up and head to our classes. After the class that we all have together, we head out together. Bloom starts talking about her visions again. Stella doesn't really seem impressed about it.

"Look, Bloom, they're just dreams. You need to stop making such a big deal out of them."

While they're arguing, Tecna is taking note of everything Bloom's saying about her visions to be able to get a clear image of what she's going through.

"They're not just dreams, Stella! I'm telling you they're visions!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."

"You don't believe me, do you?!"

"From what I've gathered so far, I think this might be the person you're referring to?"

Tecna shows a hologram of Nymph Daphne on her electronic device.

"Yes! That's her! I feel like I've see her somewhere…"

Nymph Daphne? Why would she be in Bloom's visions?

"Now I get it. It was indigestion."

"My stomach is fine, Stella."

"I meant mental indigestion. You've got a lot on your plate now with the finals coming up. You earthlings are just not used to such hard work, know what I mean?"

That's going a bit far there, Stella…

"No, I don't know what you mean!"

"Listen, you had a dream, that's all."

"It wasn't just a dream!"

"You're just blowing things out of proportion."

"Are you saying I'm making things up?!"

Stella is obviously just ignoring her at this point.

"I did see her and I'll prove it to you!"

Bloom storms off. We all look at Stella disapprovingly.

"What? What'd I say? Why the long faces?"

Sometimes Stella just doesn't know how to have the tact to shut up. We all then head up to Musa's room since she wanted to study.

"Hey, Onyx. How's the studying? Light magic isn't too difficult for you?"

I sigh at Stella's remark.

"I'm still trying to grasp it."

Stella comes and sits next to me as we all go into Musa and Tecna's room.

"I don't understand what Bloom is so upset about. I didn't say anything wrong. I just made an innocent remark, that's all!"

I just feel like face-palming at this point.

"Right. Define innocent."

Flora spouts out.

"Follow your plants' example and be quiet, alright?"

Stella really did wake up on the wrong side of the bed today. After knowing her long enough, I've learned to kind of ignore when she does that.

"My plants know better than to speak before thinking!"

It's pretty rare to see Flora so worked up, though. Musa sighs at the whole situation. Stella turns her attention towards her. That's not going to be pretty…

"Now don't you start, Musa! Or I'm going to talk about something you don't want to hear, like boys for example."

"Boring."

Musa says in an annoyed voice. We're getting into a touchy subject here, especially with the situation Riven's in right now. Musa still doesn't know about it…

"Oh yeah? Just spill the beans already. Like, we all know that when she see Timmy, our friend Tecna blushes from head to toe."

"What?! That is not true!"

Tecna screams at Stella.

"And it's obvious that Bloom has a soft spot for Brandon. As for me, I do admit I find Sky kind of cute."

Stella then looks at me. I've been so avoiding talking to her today, because I just don't want to be the centre of her spiteful comments.

"And as for our little Onyx, I've noticed that there's a little something going on with one of the professors here."

"N-No! What are you talking about?"

"Stella, stop it!"

Flora defends me. Was it that obvious? Did they all actually know?

"Oh come on, it's so obvious that her and professor Palladium have a thing for each other. Did you see how they were dancing back at the ball."

I feel my face heating up as I try to avoid all eye contact.

"Professor Palladium is just being a good teacher…"

I mumble under my breath.

"Now let's talk about Riven."

I sigh internally in relief that Stella's switched her attention away from me.

"Riven, mmm."

Stella teases Musa more.

"Stop it! I need to study!"

"That guy doesn't even look at you."

"Stella! Stop it!"

Flora screams at Stella. I feel so powerless in all of this, though. I'm starting to feel so bad for Musa.

"Chill, Flora. I was just asking her if-"

"What did I just say? I don't care about stupid boys!"

Musa starts yelling at Stella.

"It was just a joke! And anyway since the Day of the Rose, the only one Riven cares about is Darcy."

Now she went and did it… That's really too far. I can actually see Musa's eyes watering.

"Yeah, well… What does it matter to me, huh? It doesn't matter one bit!"

Musa runs out of the room. No this is not good. Without thinking about it, I start running after her. The others stay behind and probably scold Stella. I can't just leave Musa alone in her current state. I see her taking the bus for Magix and it leaves before I can make it in. Oh great… The next one will be here in way too long. The fastest way for me to get there would be to just transform and fly there. And that's exactly what I'll do.

I transform and start flying towards Magix. I get there pretty fast, but still not as fast as the bus. How am I supposed to find Musa now? I fly up high and it doesn't take me long to witness a scene that makes my blood boil. The three witches, Icy, Darcy, and Stormy are talking down to Musa. I then see her slapping Icy. I need to get there fast before anything happens. As I get there, the three witches call out the other witches in the area and they start chasing Musa down the street towards a dead end. I won't let them hurt her! I fly down between her and the group of witches. Startled by my appearance, they all stop in their tracks.

"Onyx!"

A teary Musa runs towards me. I hug her while giving the witches a cold stare.

"It's alright, Musa. I'll handle it from here."

I turn towards the group of witches.

"W-What's an Ankelon doing here?"

I hear some of them whisper in fear. The three witches are standing right at the back of the group. This time… I won't let them get away this time. I conjure up a dark forcefield to block off the exit behind them, trapping everyone in the alleyway.

"You've really made me angry this time."

I say in a low menacing voice.

"Don't let her intimidate you! She's way outnumbered!"

That's Stormy's voice.

"Instead of cowering in fear behind your useless possy, come out and face me."

That's when I hear the wall behind me crumbling down. I immediately fly up with Musa in my arms to have a full view of what's happening. It's Riven. He has his sword out and he's the one who destroyed the wall behind us.

"Riven!"

Darcy comes out and runs into his arms. This brings more tears into Musa's eyes. I put Musa down in the open area behind the broken wall. Riven faces me.

"You cursed thing! Don't you touch my Darcy!"

He's more of a jerk than usual. I don't have the patience for this. I point my finger at him and a small bullet of dark energy shoots from my finger and sends him flying back into the group of witches behind him. Some of them gasp and some of them scream at the impact while Riven let out a muffled cry. As I see Icy, Darcy, and Stormy's faces, something within me snaps. I'll make them pay for what they did to me before. My hands fill up with dark magic. It rages on like flames. The dark magic then quickly extends into three rope-like shapes and grab a hold of each of the three witches by the neck.

"Ah!"

They try to scream in pain.

"L-Let go!"

"As if I'd ever let go! I'll crush your air pipes!"

Rage was filling me up. I see Riven get up from behind the witches and run up to Darcy.

"Darcy! Baby!"

As soon as he tries to touch the dark magic around her neck, he gets electrocuted.

"Ah! Let her go! You monster!"

He comes to swing his sword at me. I hold it with one of my hands that's coated in dark magic. The impact breaks his sword. In shock, Riven's grip on his broken sword loosen up and lets it fall to the ground. The group of witches started running away, leaving only Riven and the three witches fending for themselves.

"Hahaha! You can't do anything! None of you are a match for me!"

I feel so powerful! So confident! Darkness! Dark magic is who I am! I am stronger than anyone!

"Onyx! Stop! You're going to kill them!"

I see Musa's panicked face and I immediately start feeling guilty. I undo my magic and stare at my hands in fear. The three witches collapse on the floor and start coughing and wheezing while rubbing the black burn marks on their necks. I… was actually going to kill them. What have I become? I am just a monster! I transform back into my human form and my knees give out. I feel tears streaming down my face. Then I feel arms wrapping around me. Musa…

"I-I'm a monster! I was going to kill them!"

"No! You're not a monster, Onyx! You just wanted to protect me!"

She comforts me. I'm supposed to be the one comforting her. Something then hovers over us. It's the Specialists' airship! It lands behind us and the girls come out with the guys from Red Fountain.

"Musa! Onyx!"

The girls run towards us and assess the situation at the same time.

"What happened here?"

Bloom asks us.

"Onyx… was protecting me."

Musa's covering for me. I can't let her though…

"I was going to kill them. I was going to kill every last one of them."

More tears stream down my face. The three witches were very angry.

"We're not going to let that one slide! You're all going to suffer!"

The fairies transform, preparing for battle against the witches. I want to help them, but… What if I get out of control again? What if I really kill them this time?

Fairy magic clashes with witch magic. All I can do is watch from the sidelines as all of my friends, one by one, falls. Riven is fighting Sky with his half broken sword. I need to help. I need to save my friends. Bloom is the only one still remaining. She's also witnessing all of our friends getting beaten up. Stormy blocks her way as she tries to get to Musa.

"Out of my way!"

Bloom gets angry and her whole body light up in a fiery flame. Blinding light fills the area and the witches are all blown away. They then run away with Riven as Bloom comes down, now back to her human form. She falls to the ground, exhausted from using her powers. I didn't know she had so much power. There's no mistaking this power. It's the Dragon's Flame. I'm knowledgeable enough in magic to recognize it.

Flora runs to me and helps me up.

"Onyx! Are you alright, sweetie?"

I nod weakly. I still can't get over the fact that I was so ready to kill the three witches. The Specialists bring us back to Alfea in their airship. I head straight to my room and collapse on the bed, muffling my sobbing in my pillow.

"Onyx…"

Stella comes in and puts a hand on my shoulder. I hope she doesn't have any snarky remark this time, because I'm really not in the mood.

"Musa told us… everything that happened."

They all know now.

"It's not your fault, Onyx. After what they did to you, it's normal to be this angry. Besides, you wanted to protect Musa, too. Don't feel too bad about it."

Stella pets my hair. I look up at her, eyes filled with tears.

"Stella… I was going to kill them…"

"But you didn't! And that's what matters, alright?"

"But what if I do it again?"

"We'll always be there to stop you. That's what friends are for!"

They still think of me as a friend. I dry my tears up and give Stella a genuine smile.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

She smiles back.

"And about Palladium… Is it that obvious?"

Stella giggles.

"Well you do call out his name almost every night."

I feel my face flushing up.

"I do what?!"

"Don't worry. Only I know about that."

I can't believe this…

"If you need my help in anything, just say the word, alright?"

She nudges me as she goes back to her side of the room and starts putting on some nail polish. I actually say his name in my sleep now? What's wrong with me?!

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	19. The Simulation Chamber

**Hey, I didn't take too long to update this time! :D Yay! I hope you guys enjoy this!**

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Chapter 16: The Simulation Chamber

"Bloom!"

Stella shouts at Bloom who seems completely lost in thought, staring and leaning on the wishing well.

"Yes, Stella?"

"Were you even listening?"

"Sorry… It's just that I have a lot on my mind."

It's been happening quite a few times ever since that fight with the witches. I mean, her power was pretty intense. I still can't believe that she has the Dragon's Flame. Does she even know that, though? I might even be the only one who noticed that, since fairies don't usually have the power to sense what a magic's source is. Besides, I did attend at Infinite Castle for a year, and they really have extremely enriched classes on history and magic theory.

"What were you guys saying?"

Bloom asks us.

"We were talking about how excited it's going to be when Professor Palladium finally takes us to the simulation room!"

Musa answers her. I am also kind of excited for that. A little scared, but excited at the same time.

"I've heard that some really cool things happen in there."

Stella adds.

"Yeah… And some horrible ones too…"

Flora's the only one who seems really worried about this.

"You shouldn't let that scare you, Flora."

Tecna tries to comfort her.

"What's the worse that could happen anyway? I'm sure Professor Palladium will have everything under control."

I also say, trying to help Flora feel at ease. Stella nudges me and gives me a sly smile. I feel my face heating up.

"What?!"

"Oh, nothing. I just think that you're probably the most excited out of all of us for this class."

"T-That's not true!"

But it is… I'm not excited about the class, but I'm excited to see Professor Palladium. I haven't really had the chance to since it's the exam period. I'm too busy studying and he's too busy preparing for it. The only time I get to see him is during classes.

"Oh! It's time to go."

Tecna says after looking at her watch. We all head to the simulation room where Professor Palladium will be waiting for us. I have to say that I'm a bit nervous about how this is going to go. I'm not exactly sure what to expect.

When we arrive in the simulation room, nobody can help but exclaim at how different it looks from normal classrooms. We're basically standing on a bridge in a dome-like room.

"This is the simulation room."

Professor Palladium announces to us.

"What is it exactly?"

One of the fairies asks.

"Well, it's the product of the most powerful magic and the most sophisticated technology."

I see Tecna getting excited. This place is right up her alley. Professor Palladium keeps explaining with a lot of enthusiasm.

"The light produced allows our powerful computer to create all kinds of virtual realities and environments. The replications are absolutely flawless."

It's kind of… cute to see Professor Palladium so excited about something.

"Uh, can it be used to simulate virtual dates with boys?"

I sigh at Stella's question.

"You'll be sure to get one then."

One of the fairies retorts as the whole class starts laughing. Stella blushes from the sarcastic remark.

"Yes, well… Why don't we simulate your final exam instead?"

Hearing this, everyone stops laughing.

"In the anticipation of the upcoming midterm, I've set up for you a simulation of some of the things that will definitely be on the test."

I gulp. I'm getting kind of nervous about this.

"Now, let's all go and have a look at the control room."

We follow Professor Palladium in a smaller room connected to the one we're currently in.

"From here, we can see everything that goes on in the simulation room."

Stella winks at Tecna.

"This is Toy Land for you, right?"

Tecna nods.

"Mhm, it's amazing!"

Professor Palladium then sits in the chair and clicks a few buttons while all the fairies get closer to him to see what he's doing. I stay in the back of the crowd, not really feeling comfortable squeezing in with the others.

"You'll be able to choose between two tests, look."

We all look at the screen showing the simulation room. The walls of it then start lighting up.

"Your first option is: Use magic to counteract the unfortunate results of evil spells cast by a group of wicked witches."

As he explains the first option, a group of witches appear and transform a few people into toads.

"It looks so real!"

Bloom exclaims. I'm starting to get worried… I can't counteract magic at all. I might be able to suck up the dark magic, though. It could work!

"Now, option number two: Use magic to produce positive results on a damaged environment."

On the screen, a barren planet shows up.

"That's my strong point."

Flora says with a smile. She's definitely got this one in the bag. This second option is not for me at all, though. The environment and I don't really get along very well.

"It'll be a walk in the park for someone like me."

Stella adds.

"I see modesty is your best quality, huh?"

Bloom replies to her.

"No, my second best. Right after beauty!"

Stella then giggles at her statement.

"We'll all meet here tomorrow, for your midterm. Please do come well prepared and ready to go. Believe me, this will be an experience you'll remember for a very long time."

All the fairies leave the room. I stay behind, wanting to ask more about the simulation. I also want to talk to Professor Palladium for a bit… He shuts the computer down. When he turns around, he stays still for a bit, noticing me there. He then smiles at me.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Onyx?"

He's still acting like a teacher with me. Well, that's how it should be, but… I can't help but feel like there's a bit of distance between us when he does that.

"I… just wanted to know more about the simulation. I'm a bit worried about it…"

"You shouldn't worry about it. I'm sure you'll do great. Now, I still have a class to teach after this, so I'll see you tomorrow for the midterm."

He then passes by me and leaves the room. What was I expecting to happen anyway? I can't help but feel my heart squeeze uncomfortably, though. I feel like I've been rejected, even though he's just acting like a normal teacher. And maybe that's why I feel so weird… I don't want him to act like we're just student and teacher. I want more… But it just won't happen.

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	20. Special Chapter 4: Palladium Thoughts

**I'm currently in the end of my semester. It will take longer for me to update, at least until mid May. It's a miracle that I'm actually able to post this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it :)**

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Special Chapter 4: Palladium Thoughts

It's been a few days since the incident. I made sure that Onyx was healed immediately from what happened to her from the witches. Every time the witches are mentioned now, she gets that scary look in her eyes. I hope she gets her mind off of them. I don't want her to get in trouble because of a few misbehaved witches. They don't deserve her attention… Hopefully headmistress Griffin takes some disciplinary action when she receives the letter that headmistress Faragonda sent her regarding the incident.

Every time I see Onyx these days, I feel as though I just want to hug her and touch her… I am aware of my feelings towards her. However, student teacher relationships are not appropriate in a school environment. I should try and keep my feelings in check. I don't want to cause her any trouble or make her feel uneasy.

Today is the Day of the Rose. The day we're supposed to celebrate our mothers. I'll be travelling home to go meet up with my family. After packing up, I head for the Alfea gates. On the way there, I say goodbye to a bunch of my students. I wonder if I'll run into Onyx… Oh! There she is!

"Hey, Onyx!"

She turns towards me.

"Professor…"

Her voice is a bit shaky.

"I just uh… wanted to say goodbye before leaving."

"Yeah… Bye…"

For some reason, it's really awkward talking to her, knowing about my own feelings and all. It almost seems as though she can read through it, with the way she's acting. She probably doesn't want anything to do with such a thing.

"Are you going to see your mother too?"

She shakes her head without really saying anything.

"Oh. Do you… want to talk about it?"

"It's okay. You should go spend time with your mother while you can."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then."

She smiles and waves at me. I wave back and leave for my trip home. Onyx must be having problems back home as well, considering what she is. Even her mother, though? Does even her mother not want her? And here I am worrying about my own feelings when I should be more concerned about how Onyx is dealing with all these things. I should come back as soon as I can. I need to at least be there for her when her parents aren't.

After celebrating my mother, I start heading back home.

As I'm walking to the library, I see a familiar figure pass by.

"Oh! Onyx!"

SheI turns around towards me. A beautiful smile graces her lips. I feel myself uncontrollably smiling back at her.

"Professor Palladium! You're back?"

"Yes, I just got back. Are you heading to the library?"

"I am."

"May I join you?"

She nods at me. What a nice coincidence. We both head to the library while making small talk about how our days went.

There's no one but us in the library.

"What kind of books do you come to read here, Onyx?"

I ask her while looking for a book through the shelves.

"Well, I mostly read some books about light magic."

I turn my head towards her. Our eyes meet and she immediately looks at the floor. She's not being honest with herself.

"Is that what you enjoy reading?"

She shakes her head.

"What do you enjoy reading then?"

"Um…mostly occult books."

"It's hard to find that here, isn't it?"

She nods.

"Come with me. I'll show you a section that's usually off-limits to students unless they have special authorization."

She follows me. I lead her to one of the restricted areas, unlocking the door for her.

"This… Can I really read these books?"

She turns to me. I can see the excitement in her eyes.

"Of course you can. Besides, you'd probably understand these better than anyone else here."

"Thank you so much, Professor Palladium!"

"I told you to just call me Palladium when we're not in class."

She giggles. Seeing her so happy makes me feel insanely good.

"This is the happiest I've seen you so far, Onyx."

I smile at her.

"I'm just so grateful…"

I pat her head affectionately.

"Onyx, don't force yourself to be someone you're not. You're amazing just the way you are and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."

Tears then start welling up in her eyes. They then roll down her cheeks and she tries to dry them off as best as she can.

"I-I'm sorry! It just happened all of a sudden-!"

I can't hold myself back anymore. I want to hold her. I want to comfort her. Without thinking twice about it, I wrap my arms around her and pull her close into my arms. We stay like this for while, without any of us saying a word.

The next day, I teach my class as usual. Not much happens until later that day. One of my good friends sends me a message about a certain event that went on in Magix. Turns out that a dark Ankelon… completely overpowered a group of witches, and almost killed three of them. A dark Ankelon… Three witches… Magix… Onyx! She didn't do that, did she? I'm sure something provoked her. She wouldn't just go find them and do that to them.

While lost in my thoughts, I bump into Musa.

"Oh! Sorry about that, Professor Palladium."

"No no, it was my fault, Musa."

She was then starting to walk away when it hit me. I could ask her if she knows anything about what happened. She is one of Onyx' friends, so she might actually know something about it.

"Musa! There's something I've been meaning to ask you. Could you come to my office for a bit?"

Musa looks at me with a confused look.

"Um… Yeah, sure thing, Professor."

We go to my office and I invite her to sit down.

"Don't worry, I won't take much of your time."

I sit across the desk from her.

"Be honest with me on this, Musa, please."

She raises an eyebrow at me.

"What is it?"

I take a deep breath.

"I heard about a certain incident that happened in Magix today about a dark Ankelon and a group of witches."

Musa gasps. So she does know something about this.

"It was Onyx, wasn't it?"

Musa looks down and nods.

"Why would she do something like that? Please tell me."

"Professor, it's not what you think. Onyx… She protected me. She was just standing up for me! She would never hurt anyone intentionally."

"Protecting you? What do you mean?"

"Well… I was being chased by a group of witches. It was their idea of 'having fun'. Then Onyx appeared and protected me. She singlehandedly took them all on… for my sake. Then… the three witches, Icy, Darcy, and Stormy, appeared."

Musa pauses for a bit.

"Considering what they previously did to her, on top of being the ones behind the group of witches tormenting me, she lost control of her emotions… Onyx was furious. She attacked them… and…"

"…Almost killed them."

"It wasn't intentional, though! Believe me!"

"I believe you, Musa. I knew that she wouldn't just go and do something like that without having a reason for it. Thank you again, Musa. That's all I wanted to know."

Musa then left my office. I sigh in relief. I knew Onyx wouldn't hurt them without a reason. All along, she just wanted to protect her friend.

What am I doing? I'm giving one of my students special attention. This is not what a teacher is supposed to do. I have to treat everyone equally. I have to control myself. Tomorrow is a special day. I need to focus on teaching my class about the simulation room and get my mind off of Onyx for a while.

The following day, I go to the simulation room and wait for my class. When the girls arrive in the simulation room, nobody can help but exclaim at how different it looks from normal classrooms.

"This is the simulation room."

I announce to them.

"What is it exactly?"

One of the fairies asks.

"Well, it's the product of the most powerful magic and the most sophisticated technology. The light produced allows our powerful computer to create all kinds of virtual realities and environments. The replications are absolutely flawless."

"Uh, can it be used to simulate virtual dates with boys?"

Stella asks me.

"You'll be sure to get one then."

One of the fairies retorts as the whole class starts laughing. Stella blushes from the sarcastic remark.

"Yes, well… Why don't we simulate your final exam instead?"

Hearing this, everyone stops laughing.

"In the anticipation of the upcoming midterm, I've set up for you a simulation of some of the things that will definitely be on the test. Now, let's all go and have a look at the control room."

They then all follow me into the control room. I'm doing good until now. I've managed to keep my attention off of Onyx.

"From here, we can see everything that goes on in the simulation room."

I then sit in the chair and click a few buttons while all the fairies get closer to me to see what I'm doing. Hm… Onyx doesn't seem to be one of the closer ones. No! Palladium, concentrate!

"You'll be able to choose between two tests, look."

The simulation room's walls of it then start lighting up.

"Your first option is: Use magic to counteract the unfortunate results of evil spells cast by a group of wicked witches. Now, option number two: Use magic to produce positive results on a damaged environment."

I wonder which one Onyx would choose… Why can't I just stop thinking about her? I was doing so well earlier.

After finishing up with the lesson, all the fairies leave the room. I shut the computer down. When I turn around, I notice Onyx standing there. Why is she here? This is hard enough for me without having to face her directly. I smile at her.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Onyx?"

I should act like a teacher and nothing more with her. She kind of looks disappointed at how I'm talking to her. Believe me, Onyx… I don't like it either, but this is for the best.

"I… just wanted to know more about the simulation. I'm a bit worried about it…"

"You shouldn't worry about it. I'm sure you'll do great. Now, I still have a class to teach after this, so I'll see you tomorrow for the midterm."

I then pass by her and leave the room. I feel really bad about just leaving her like this. I shouldn't get any closer… The closer I'll get, the harder it'll be later. My position as her teacher should not become more than that. I'm her teacher, and she is my student. That's all we'll ever be.

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	21. Malfunction

**Ooooooh! The drama is on! I hope you guys enjoy this!**

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Chapter 17: Malfunction

Today's the day! The exam… I'm stressing out. I'm not the only one, though. Flora has been a nervous wreck for the whole week. The girls and I all head to the simulation room where Professor Palladium is already there, waiting for us. I feel really uncomfortable seeing him again. Ever since yesterday, I feel like he only views me as a student. It almost seems like he's making a conscious effort to make me see that I'm nothing but one of his students. Not even glancing my way, he starts explaining how today will proceed.

"Alright ladies, in a few minutes we'll begin. You'll go one at a time."

He then turns to the computer and starts powering it on.

"I'm just so nervous!"

Musa says to Flora.

"Yeah, same here. I hope I don't have to go first."

Flora voices her worries.

"I think it might be better to go first. That way you get it over with and then it's off your mind."

Stella says casually. Bloom doesn't seem to be listening to any of this, though. She just looks really fascinated by how Professor Palladium is working the computer. Once he's done, he turns towards us.

"Alright, do I have a volunteer who would like to go first?"

Nobody seems like they want to. Not even Stella… I'm not volunteering for that either.

"I knew this would happen. I guess I'll be picking who goes first."

He looks at everyone, while still avoiding me. What is up with him? Now he's just being unfair!

"Bloom! Which one of the tests do you choose?"

"Um…"

Bloom looks surprised at being chosen to go first.

"Well, the second option sir… I want to work on a damaged environment."

After Bloom says her choice, Professor Palladium motions for her to step forward.

"Come on, then. You can choose the environment. What would you like?"

"Hmm… Well, I'd like a desolate environment. The most desolate possible."

She seems confident. After clicking on a few buttons, Professor Palladium starts explaining things to Bloom.

"There's this place called Domino. It's one of the saddest most miserable places in the magical dimension. Have you ever heard of Domino?"

He asks Bloom.

"No, I've never heard of it."

She answers. I've personally learnt about it back in Infinite Castle. It's a planet of legends, the chosen planet by the Great Dragon as its final resting place. It became a desolate, barren planet after being attacked by the Ancestral Witches in an attempt to gain the Dragon Flame. The King and Queen were dragged along with the Witches to Obsidian, where they're all trapped there. Nymph Daphne is actually the daughter of the King and Queen of Domino. Not much is known about her whereabouts. It is also rumoured that she might have a younger sister. Not much is known about that one either. I doubt any of the fairies here know about this. Maybe just the professors and the headmistress would know.

"As soon as you enter the simulation room, Domino will appear around you. Are you ready?"

Professor Palladium asks Bloom.

"Yes, I brought a few ingredients and some potions with me. Can I take them along?"

"You may take whatever is of help to you."

He then opens the door to the simulation room and Bloom walks in. We all then see her on the screen in the control room. Professor Palladium then goes and sits on the chair in front of the computer. After pushing a few buttons, a virtual rendition of Domino appears all around Bloom. After she looks around at her environment, Bloom reaches in her bag. Kiko, her pet rabbit, then immediately jumps out. She seems really surprised by it. He must've snuck in. Bloom then takes out a few seed and concentrates her magic to sprout some plants.

While she's doing that, the three witches materialize behind her.

"What?"

Flora exclaims.

"What are those three doing here?"

Musa retorts.

"Bloom's in danger!"

Stella screams.

"They shouldn't be able to hurt her, since this is a simulation."

Tecna says, but I still sense a bit of worry in her voice. What are they doing here, indeed? Is it part of the exam? No, it shouldn't be. The three then start attacking Bloom. I won't stand for this! I go up to Professor Palladium.

"Stop the simulation!"

"I'm trying, but it won't respond!"

"Can't you just shut it down?"

"These things don't work that way, Onyx. If I force it shut, we might lose all of the data."

"Who cares about the data when Bloom's in danger?!"

"She's not in danger! Three witches are just as virtual as everything else."

I clench my fists as I see Bloom struggling against them, even after transforming. It's obvious that their purpose isn't to get rid of Bloom. There's something else. It's like they're testing her. The three of them then started targeting Kiko, sending him falling down a bottomless pit! They're trying to provoke her! I'm sure of it. I then sense a surge of power, similar to the one back in Magix coming from Bloom. The Dragon Flame. Bloom was then engulfed and surrounded by flames. The flames grew and disintegrated the witches. The system then started spawning a lot of copies of Kiko. It seems to be malfunctioning, but at least Bloom was able to find the real Kiko unharmed. Professor Palladium was finally able to shut that thing down. Everyone then rushes in the simulation room to check up on Bloom. I'm glad she's fine, but I can't help worrying about what just happened. I should definitely talk to headmistress Faragonda about that.

Professor Palladium announces that the test will be postponed to tomorrow, to have enough time to fix up the computer after what happened. Everyone cheers for Bloom, but I can't help but frown. Not because it's postponed, but because of the unease I'm feeling. While they're all busy cheering for Bloom, I slip outside the classroom, heading straight for Faragonda's office.

I knock on her door.

"Come in."

As I step inside her office, I see her sitting at her desk with a serious face.

"Oh, Onyx. What can I do for you?"

She smiles at me, but I can still see that she's preoccupied by something.

"Headmistress, I have some things that are concerning me."

"I'm listening."

She motions to the chair across her desk. I take a seat.

"About today's test in the simulation room, something very strange happened."

Faragonda nods.

"Yes, I've witnessed everything from here."

"That makes things easier. I just found it really odd that the three witches would just plant virtual images of themselves into the simulation without any ulterior motive. I doubt it's something as superficial as tormenting Bloom."

"Oh? What is your opinion on that?"

"Well… I'm pretty sure that Bloom is in possession of the Dragon Flame."

"The Dragon Flame?!"

It seems like Headmistress Faragonda didn't know about that part.

"Yes, this is the second time I've sensed that power from her. Of course, she has no idea that she possesses it. That's why, my theory is that the witches sensed it the first time, and wanted concrete proof of that."

Faragonda nods, her eyes wide open.

"It did seem like they were doing everything to provoke her. I think you might be right on that one. I just have one favour to ask you."

"Yes?"

"Don't tell Bloom or anyone about this. Not yet, at least. If it is true that the witches are targeting the Dragon Flame, then we should keep it undercover until Bloom becomes strong enough to hold her own against them."

"Yeah, I think that would be best as well."

Faragonda then smiles at me.

"Thank you, Onyx. You really are exceptional to have figured something like that out."

I smile at her compliment. It makes me happy to hear that I'm being useful with my powers. I leave Faragonda's office and start heading towards my next class. This time it'll be a history exam.

"Onyx! Wait!"

I turn around and find Professor Palladium calling out to me. I don't have time for this…

"What is it?"

"I want to know why you were so agitated about what happened today, even though I told you that Bloom couldn't be harmed."

"That's none of your concern."

"It is, since I was the one controlling the computer."

"Well, you should've controlled it better. Now, if you'll excuse me, I don't want to be late for my next test."

I have nothing to say to him. The fact that he didn't trust me on this and closed the computer might now put Bloom in even more danger. I'm done with him. He's just another professor. I have much bigger things to worry about right now.

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	22. Growing Distance

**I have summer classes these days so I won't be able to update until that's over, which is the 26th of July. This should give you guys an idea on how much time you'll be waiting. I'm really sorry about that, but these are intensive courses, so it's more than full-time... I still hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I'll see you towards the end of July!**

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Chapter 18: Growing Distance

"That's it! You've gone too far this time! I'm putting a stop to this!"

I sigh at the scene unfolding before me. Stella and Flora are arguing… again. All this because of the plants Flora put in our room.

"Stella, what's going on here?"

Bloom comes into our room also.

"Flora is overdoing it again!"

"I'm just carrying out a couple of experiments. I've got an exam soon!"

"Huh! No kidding, you've been going on about it for a month! "I'm going to use the power of flowers to thwart the witches' evil spells!""

Stella then mockingly impersonating Flora.

"So? What's wrong with that?"

Bloom asks, innocently.

"What's wrong with that?! In case you haven't noticed, your room has become a humongous chemistry lab."

Stella bitterly spouts.

"Bloom gave me permission and she even said that she'll help me study."

"I've already passed the simulator test so I thought I could help out."

Stella frowns.

"Yeah, some test."

Now it's going to be an argument between Bloom and Stella. I should've grabbed some popcorn for this.

"Hey! I took on Icy, Darcy, and Stormy. It wasn't easy!"

"I know. Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about. I know you guys are all a bit nervous."

"Don't worry about it?! You should see our room! I gave Flora permission to put her flowers by our windowsill because they need a lot of sunlight. But then, she spread herself out and put a bunch of her other plants next to my mirror!"

"Well it's normal, this type of plant feeds off of reflective light, so your mirror is perfect!"

Flora retorts.

"Onyx has a mirror too!"

Oh? Now they're dragging me into this?

"W-Well… Onyx is…"

"The plants don't like me."

I say nonchalantly. Flora feels like it's such a horrible thing that they don't like me, that I must be the most miserable person in the world because of it, but it seriously doesn't bother me. I'm sure it's because if it was her, then it would be disastrous.

"Fine! But you think this is normal?"

Stella points at the plants next to her mirror that are playing with her makeup and her clothes. Their argument is not going to end any time soon. I would stick around for the rest of it, but I have some important things to research for the simulation test.

"I'm heading to the library, everyone. Oh, and Flora, the plant that you left on my night table over there died. I think it died of freight or something. Sorry about that."

"Oh no!"

I leave the dorm while Flora goes to take care of the dead plant. I feel bad about it, but I did warn her that it was a bad idea to leave it there. There was apparently no other place to put it, so she didn't have much of a choice.

When I get to the library, I head straight to the room containing the section about dark magic. Since Professor Palladium gave me the permission to use it, I haven't had any problems with the librarian or the other teachers. I really do appreciate what he's done for me. Maybe it's that appreciation that I've been mistaking for romantic feelings.

I should just focus on studying about dark magic absorption. The simulation test is tomorrow after all. They finally managed to fix it after what happened. Maybe I was too harsh with Professor Palladium back then… It just pisses me off that we let the witches have the upper hand because he didn't trust me. Oh well, what's done is done. I'll just have to protect Bloom from whatever the witches are planning to do.

It's already getting pretty late. I should head back to the dorm. I then see Professor Palladium walking down the corridor towards me. Does he have something to say to me? Did he know I was here? He gets closer, not showing sign of slowing down. He's not even looking at me. We walk past each other, without even a word nor a glance towards the other. I see… So that's how it ends. It never even do I feel such disappointment? I was the one who decided that I was done with him. That I shouldn't worry about him anymore… That I shouldn't get involved… Then why? Why does it hurt so much?

That night, I couldn't sleep. My mind was too preoccupied with Professor Palladium. This is not good. I needed to be rested for today… Especially since I'll be trying out something I've never tried before. Technically, I've done it before, but never to dispel anything. Like that time when the witches held Stella prisoner, I absorbed the dark energy rings rings that were holding her captive. The magic wasn't directly affecting her. If it was, absorbing the dark magic like that might've hurt her. I'm pretty sure if I kill the simulations, I'll probably fail the exam…

"Wake up, sleepyhead! Or do you want to be late for the simulation test?"

I rub my eyes and open them lazily to see Stella all dressed up and ready to go, smiling at me.

"Alright, alright… Just gimme a sec…"

With much more effort than it should take, I get up from my bed. I yawn while stretching. After getting ready, I head out with the girls to eat breakfast at the cafeteria before going straight to the simulation room.

When we arrive there, Professor Palladium is already in the control room, getting things set up.

"Ready, girls? Everything is up and running for the test. We even took extra precautions as to not let any incidents happen this time around. Who'd like to go first then?"

Like last time, no one volunteers for that.

"I guess I'll have to pick someone randomly again."

Professor Palladium then picks a random fairy who seems really panicky about going first. She goes on inside the simulation room after telling Professor Palladium what she chose as her test. After struggling a bit in the beginning, she manages to accomplish the task she was given. After her, some fairies volunteered and some were chosen randomly. Stella, Flora, Musa, and Tecna aced their test with ease.

"Lastly, we have Onyx."

Hearing him say my name startles me. He hasn't talked to me in such a long time that it makes me feel really nervous for some reason.

"What's your choice for this test? The barren environment or the witches' dark spell?"

The way he's speaking to me is so devoid of emotion that it catches me off guard. He never spoke to me that way before.

"T-The dark spell, sir…"

I can't help but stutter.

"Alright, you may go ahead."

I head towards out of the control room and into the simulation room. The environment around me then starts to change. I'm now in a city where witches are casting spells on the citizens.

"As per headmistress Faragonda's request and your different kind of power, you will be graded on both dispelling the witches' magic and capturing them. If you perfectly succeed in one of them, you'll pass, but barely. In consequence, the witches are much stronger than the Cloud Tower witches."

I hear Professor Palladium's voice. Maybe that'll actually help me pass this, since it's more doable for me to capture the witches than to dispel magic. To make it fair, they made them stronger than the witches still in school. That should be still good. There're only two of them anyway. I should focus on catching them first.

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 **Again, I'm really sorry about the long wait ahead! Tell what you thought of this chapter in the reviews!**


	23. Hurt

**Done with exams! I'm freeeee! I'll be able to post more often now! :D**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and sorry for the long wait!**

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Chapter 19: Hurt

Let's see how strong these simulation witches really are. Let's try a basic energy orb. In both my hands, black spheres form. I then throw them in the witches' direction. They easily dodge them… or so they think. Moving my index finger, I remotely move my orbs in the direction I want, making them collide with two of the witches. That immediately disintegrates them, leaving only one witch. I want to end this with a big finale! Concentrating a big portion of my energy, I shoot out a black beam in the witch's direction. It's so big that she has no place to run and meets the same fate as the two others. My environment then starts flashing red. I then hear a robotic voice.

"Warning. System overloaded. Evacuate immediately."

It keeps repeating that! What's happening?! Ok… Don't panic… I just need to find the exit, right? Where is the exit?! I smell something heating up! This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!

I run around, trying to find some sort of exit. The environment around me is getting very distorted. It's hurting my brain… I look around, regardless, trying my best to find a way out of here. The shape of a door then forms further away. That must be it! The door then darts open and I see Professor Palladium barging in.

"Onyx!"

My eyes start tearing up. It feels like it's been forever since I heard him say my name with so much emotion. I see him running towards me. Without having the chance to react, he grabs my hand and leads me out. As soon as we get into the control room, currents of electricity run through the simulation room and it blacks out. Man, if I was in there for another second… I don't even want to think of what would have happened.

"Onyx!"

The girls run up to me, with concerned expressions on their face. Professor Palladium lets go of me and walks away to leave the space for the girls. I close the hand that he was holding and bring it to my chest. My heart hurts… I want him to hold me more… What have I been doing? Why have I been denying these feelings for so long? I know why… I'm just afraid of what I don't understand. I've never liked someone in this way before.

Professor Palladium dismisses the class right after giving each one of us a detailed report on the grade we got. I passed, but barely. I'm amazed he let me pass at all. I basically only did half of the test, and poorly at that. We all leave the simulation chamber while it gets repaired. Professor Palladium leaves as well. He seems in a hurry to get away. I… I won't let him go so easily this time. I need to at least thank him.

"Um… I'm going to go do something, so you guys go on without me."

The girls look at me with confused looks. Before they have a chance of asking questions, I run after where I saw Professor Palladium go. This looks like the way to his office. I hope he's in there.

When I reach his office, I knock softly on the door.

"Yes?"

He is in there! Alright, calm down, my heart… I gulp and open the door. When Professor Palladium sees me, his eyes widen and he drops a bunch of papers that he was holding.

"A-Ah! I'm sorry I startled you, Professor! I'll pick those up!"

"N-No, that's quite alright! Is there something in particular that you wanted to discuss?"

He seems so flustered about something. Then again, that's how he usually is.

"Well… I wanted to thank you… for earlier…"

"Oh! You're welcome. It's my duty as a teacher to protect my students after all."

Again with that student teacher barrier… What am I expecting? That's how things are now. I know for sure that they haven't been like that the whole time, though. I know that Professor Palladium treated me differently from other students before. I want him to go back to doing that.

"Is that all? If it is, then you will have to excuse me, but I'm really busy right-"

"Also!"

I bring my hands to my mouth. I didn't expect my voice to be this loud. Professor Palladium seems surprised also.

"Also…"

I bring my voice down to almost a whisper.

"Yes?"

I feel my face heating up.

"I… I'm sorry for being so rude back with what happened with Bloom…"

Professor Palladium chuckles.

"Oh, that. You don't have to worry about it."

There's then a moment of silence where I can't even look up at him.

"Onyx?"

"Um… Sorry… I just have something else I want to say… but it's really hard to say…"

I take a breath. I want to tell him how I feel. Even if he doesn't feel the same way, it'll help me get over it more easily. I look up at him, feeling as though my face is on fire.

"I…!"

"Don't do it…"

Huh…?

"What do you…?"

"Onyx, please… This is not right. For a teacher and a student to be more than a teacher and a student is not right. I've been holding myself back this whole time. If you say anything more, I don't know if I'll be able to resist any longer. So, please, let's leave it at this."

I feel as though my heart has shattered into a million pieces. What? How could he? Tears fall out uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry…"

His voice sounds choked up. I can't take this anymore… I run out of his office, getting as far away as possible from the situation. I was mentally prepared for this. I knew it would never happen between us! But then, why…? Why does it hurt so much? Why can't I just accept it and let go?! I knew it… There's no place for me here. I don't belong. How am I even supposed to stay here, seeing him everyday, but unable to get closer to him? It's going to be way too painful…

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 **Sooooo what did you guys think? Tell me in the reviews!**


	24. Special Chapter 5: Palladium's Thoughts

**I didn't think I'd get so many reviews about you guys crying for Onyx last chapter! Well, now it's time to see it from Palladium's perspective XD Nobody even said anything about him the last chapter! I wana know how you guys feel towards how he acted!**

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Special Chapter 5: Palladium's Thoughts

Today's the exam day. I wait in the simulation chamber for all my students to arrive. I see Onyx coming in. I shouldn't let her see me looking her way. She needs to understand that we will never be more than a teacher and a student. I start explaining how today will proceed.

"Alright ladies, in a few minutes we'll begin. You'll go one at a time."

I turn on the computer. I hear the girls whispering amongst one another about how nervous they are.

Once I'm done with the preparations, I turn towards my students.

"Alright, do I have a volunteer who would like to go first?"

Nobody volunteers. Of course.

"I knew this would happen. I guess I'll be picking who goes first."

I look at everyone, while trying to avoid any eye contact with Onyx. I just don't think I can deal with that right now…

"Bloom! Which one of the tests do you choose?"

"Um…"

Bloom looks surprised at being chosen to go first.

"Well, the second option sir… I want to work on a damaged environment."

After Bloom says her choice, I motion for her to step forward.

"Come on, then. You can choose the environment. What would you like?"

"Hmm… Well, I'd like a desolate environment. The most desolate possible."

After clicking on a few buttons, I start explaining things to Bloom.

"There's this place called Domino. It's one of the saddest most miserable places in the magical dimension. Have you ever heard of Domino?"

I ask Bloom.

"No, I've never heard of it."

She answers.

"As soon as you enter the simulation room, Domino will appear around you. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I brought a few ingredients and some potions with me. Can I take them along?"

"You may take whatever is of help to you."

I then open the door to the simulation room and Bloom walks in. I then go and sit on the chair in front of the computer. I push a few buttons and a virtual rendition of Domino appears all around Bloom. After she looks around at her environment, Bloom reaches in her bag. Her pet rabbit then immediately jumps out. Bloom then concentrates her magic to sprout some plants. Good. Plants are the first step to reviving an ecosystem.

While she's doing that, the three witches materialize behind her. I didn't program them! I need to do something to stop this.

"What?"

Flora exclaims.

"What are those three doing here?"

Musa retorts.

"Bloom's in danger!"

Stella screams.

"They shouldn't be able to hurt her, since this is a simulation."

Tecna says. She's right about that, but it still worries me a bit. The three then start attacking Bloom. I then feel someone coming up to me. I glance up and see Onyx.

"Stop the simulation!"

"I'm trying, but it won't respond!"

"Can't you just shut it down?"

"These things don't work that way, Onyx. If I force it shut, we might lose all of the data."

"Who cares about the data when Bloom's in danger?!"

"She's not in danger! Three witches are just as virtual as everything else."

I don't have time to argue with her! I need to do what I can to get Bloom out of there. I'm finally able to stop the simulation. Everyone then rushes in the simulation room to check up on Bloom. At least that problem is resolved.

I announce that the test will be postponed to tomorrow, to have enough time to fix up the computer after what happened. Everyone cheers for Bloom. I notice Onyx slipping out of the room. If I follow her right away, it might look suspicious… But I just can't help it! She seemed really upset.

I follow her and see her going in Headmistress Faragonda's office. What's going on? After a bit of time, she finally comes out.

"Onyx! Wait!"

She turns around after hearing me calling out to her. She doesn't look too thrilled to see me.

"What is it?"

"I want to know why you were so agitated about what happened today, even though I told you that Bloom couldn't be harmed."

"That's none of your concern."

"It is, since I was the one controlling the computer."

"Well, you should've controlled it better. Now, if you'll excuse me, I don't want to be late for my next test."

She leaves after saying that. I sigh, trying to relax. She actually managed to make me angry. I can't even remember the last time I've felt that way. I shouldn't care so much! Anyway, time to go and prepare for the test. I need to make sure there won't be any occurrences like this one again.

The next day, I focus on doing all the security checks on the computer. After that's done, I head to the library. I then see Onyx walking down the corridor towards me. I shouldn't pay any attention to her. It's not like she wants it either. We walk past each other, without even a word nor a glance towards the other. It's all for the best…

The day of the test in now here. I wait for all the girls to come while I set up the computer.

"Ready, girls? Everything is up and running for the test. We even took extra precautions as to not let any incidents happen this time around. Who'd like to go first then?"

Like last time, no one volunteers for that. I can't help but notice how exhausted Onyx looks. No, focus. I can't play favourites with my students like that. I'm sure all the fairies are also tired.

"I guess I'll have to pick someone randomly again."

I then pick a random fairy. She goes on inside the simulation room after telling Professor Palladium what she chose as her test. After struggling a bit in the beginning, she manages to accomplish the task she was given. After her, some fairies volunteered and some were chosen randomly.

"Lastly, we have Onyx."

She jumps a bit when I call her name.

"What's your choice for this test? The barren environment or the witches' dark spell?"

I try to talk to her like I talk to all the other students, with as little personal emotion as possible.

"T-The dark spell, sir…"

She's stuttering? It's been a while since I heard her stutter like that. Is she nervous?

"Alright, you may go ahead."

She heads towards the simulation room. I program the simulation room to look like Magix.

"As per headmistress Faragonda's request and your different kind of power, you will be graded on both dispelling the witches' magic and capturing them. If you perfectly succeed in one of them, you'll pass, but barely. In consequence, the witches are much stronger than the Cloud Tower witches."

Onyx uses some dark spheres that chase their target to destroy two of the three witches. For the last witch, she shoots out a black beam. It's so big that she has no place to run and meets the same fate as the two others. Oh no! The system's overheating! That's way too much magical power!

"Warning. System overloaded. Evacuate immediately."

This is bad! I need to get her out of there!

I barge into the control room.

"Onyx!"

Her eyes start tearing up. She must've been so scared. I run towards her. I then immediately grab her hand and lead her out. As soon as we get into the control room, currents of electricity run through the simulation room and it blacks out. If I had been even one second late… I don't think I would've been able to forgive myself.

"Onyx!"

The girls run up to Onyx, with concerned expressions on their face. I let go of her hand and walk away to leave the space for the girls. I dismiss the class after handing everyone their grades' breakdown and head to my office. While walking there, I look at the hand with which I held Onyx' own. I know very well that, if I let myself go, I'd do everything to make her mine…

I get to my office and close the door behind me. I need to get my mind off of things. Maybe cleaning up a bit might help out.

Not too long after, I hear a soft knock on the door. Who could that be?

"Yes?"

My eyes widen and I drop the papers that I'm holding when I see Onyx coming into the office. Why is she here?!

"A-Ah! I'm sorry I startled you, Professor! I'll pick those up!"

"N-No, that's quite alright! Is there something in particular that you wanted to discuss?"

She's not looking directly at me. Then again, that's how she usually is.

"Well… I wanted to thank you… for earlier…"

"Oh! You're welcome. It's my duty as a teacher to protect my students after all."

I need to keep that necessary distance between us… I can't treat her differently from the other students anymore.

"Is that all? If it is, then you will have to excuse me, but I'm really busy right-"

"Also!"

She brings her hands to my mouth. I didn't expect her to shout like that.

"Also…"

She brings her voice down to almost a whisper.

"Yes?"

She's looking at the floor. I notice her cheeks getting red.

"I… I'm sorry for being so rude back with what happened with Bloom…"

I chuckle. Good… That was all it was.

"Oh, that. You don't have to worry about it."

There's then a moment of silence where she keeps looking down at the ground with her feet fiddling around.

"Onyx?"

"Um… Sorry… I just have something else I want to say… but it's really hard to say…"

No… She can't do it. That would be too unfair. If she does what I think she's about to do, I won't be able to stop myself.

"I…!"

"Don't do it…"

I'm sorry, Onyx…

"What do you…?"

"Onyx, please… This is not right. For a teacher and a student to be more than a teacher and a student is not right. I've been holding myself back this whole time. If you say anything more, I don't know if I'll be able to resist any longer. So, please, let's leave it at this."

This is so painful to say, but there's no other way.

"I'm sorry…"

I'm doing everything I can to not lose my self-control and take her into my arms. Seeing the tears falling down her cheeks is so painful… Knowing that I'm the cause of her pain is unbearable. She runs out of my office, while I stand there, unable to even chase after her. I cover my eyes with one of my hands, trying to contain my own tears.

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 **Alright! Tell me what you thought in the reviews! How do you feel towards Palladium? And Onyx? The drama!**


	25. Stella's Counselling

**Alright, I realized that I hadn't actually finished this chapter before, so this is the edit with completed chapter! Sorry about all the confusion everyone XD**

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Chapter 20: Stella's Counselling

Lying in my bed, in the darkness of the night, I can't fall asleep. So many things are going through my head. Should I leave Alfea and just run away from everything? If I do, where would I go? How would I survive? I don't want to end up like all the other Dark Ankelons who sided with the witches and got killed by the other Ankelons in the end.

I tried to avoid all the girls today. I didn't even go to any classes… My eyes are red and dry from all the tears. I probably look like a mess. What am I supposed to do? Am I just supposed to accept this and move on? But I… I have feelings for him that I've never had for anyone else. And I was just shot down before I even had the chance to say it… It's too cruel…

I curl up under my covers and hide my face in my arms. Good thing tomorrow is a day off. At least, I won't have to see him.

"Onyx…? Are you alright?"

Stella's back… I don't want to talk to anyone right now, but I can't just be rude. It's not her fault that I'm feeling like this.

"…I'm fine."

I say softly, not wanting her to hear my choked up voice.

"You're obviously feeling under the weather. Tell me what's wrong."

She sits on my bed and looks at me. I sigh and sit up. Stella gasps and her eyes widen.

"Oh my gosh, you look terrible!"

I grumble at her comment.

"Sorry, sorry. You just look like a hot mess right now. Something really bad must've happened…"

I sigh.

"It's nothing serious…"

"Nothing serious?! You cry your eyes out over stuff that aren't serious?! Come on, Onyx. You know I can see right through your excuses. You can tell me what's wrong."

Stella took my hands in hers squeezing them a bit to comfort me. Should I really tell her? Would that solve anything? I guess there's nothing left to lose either…

"Well… It's about professor Palladium."

"I knew it."

I blink a few times.

"How did you know?"

"Who else would make you this upset other than the person you're in love with?"

Love… I feel tears coming back up again. Just when I thought I didn't have any left…

"Oh… I'm sorry, Onyx. What did he do that was so bad?"

I gulp back down the tears and try to keep my voice from shaking.

"He… I… I was about to confess but he… He told me not to… It's as if he knew exactly what I was about to say… And he didn't want me to say it…"

I take deep breaths to keep myself from crying.

"What…? Why would he do that?"

"He said it's because of how it's improper for us to be more than a student and a teacher to each other… But I don't know if I can see him everyday, knowing that I won't be able to talk to him the same way ever again… I don't know if I can stay here if he's also here… Maybe I'm better off just leaving Alfea…"

"Don't say that! Don't even think it! I know this must be really hard on you… But you have to keep trying! Doesn't that mean that he also has feelings for you? He's trying so hard to resist it, but he can't stay away forever. If he truly loves you, you guys will be together in the end. I'm rooting for you all the way."

I manage to smile a little at Stella.

"Thank you for that, Stella… I really needed it."

"Anything for you, Onyx! Now to cheer you up, I want you to come with me and the girls to the beauty pageant that I'll be participating in!"

"A beauty pageant? But we have exams tomorrow. I didn't have time to study a single thing."

"Oh… Alright, I guess you should stay and study then…"

"What about you?"

"I'll study later! Bloom made me promise to pull an all-nighter tonight for that…"

"Well, you'll tell me how your pageant goes then."

After Stella leaves for her beauty pageant with the girls, I find myself alone in our little dorm. Even though I still feel kind of depressed, there's now new hope in my heart thanks to Stella. Professor Palladium never said that he didn't like me back. He only said that the right thing was for us not to get into a relationship.

I should stop thinking about all this for now, though, and focus on studying. The written exams here are so much easier than the ones I had back in Infinite Castle. It shouldn't be too hard to get a good grade tomorrow. To be honest, I would've probably been able to go the pageant with the girls, but I just honestly didn't feel up to it. I'm not really into these kind of things…

It's still early out and I'm done studying. If I stay in my room for the rest of the day, I'll probably drive myself insane with my thoughts. I should go out and walk around the school or something. I just hope I don't run into professor Palladium. I don't know how I'm supposed to act around him after what happened…

While walking around, I notice that there aren't that many fairies around. They're all probably studying. The library is probably packed. Maybe I should go out. I heard from Flora about one of Alfea's gardens located in the backyard. She keeps telling me about how beautiful the flowers are there. I might as well go see it. Hopefully the flowers won't wilt from me being there…

As I get closer I can already smell the flowery fragrance in the air. It's almost intoxicating. When I get there, I understand why Flora keeps talking about it. First of all, it's huge. It even has a fountain. There's probably flowers of every single colour in the garden. Except for black, of courses… It's always the one that's never included. And just as I thought, the nature here also is starting to cower away at my presence. I shouldn't stay here for too long; this is not a place for me. As I was turning around and started walking away, I heard a voice calling out to me.

"Onyx?"

I turn around.

"Hey, Flora."

That's true, Flora told me that she had to stay at school today to take care of the plants here. Apparently it was her turn to do that

"It's very unusual to see you around here."

She looked worriedly at the plants.

"Sorry about that... I was just about to leave, actually."

She looks at me with concern in her eyes.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah... Don't worry about me..."

I give her my best attempt at a smile.

"Flora! The plants are acting strangely. Come see."

I almost gasped out loud at the voice I heard. It was Palladium's voice... Now I really need to go. I'm the reason the plants are acting weirdly anyway. I wave at Flora and leave as fast as I can. I feel a pain in my chest. I really didn't expect him to be there... It must be nice... being able to work together with him on the plants. It's such a beautiful place. A beautiful place that I'll never be part of.

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 **Alright, I realized that I hadn't actually finished this chapter before, so this is the edit with completed chapter! Sorry about all the confusion everyone XD**


	26. A Series of Unexpected Events

**I know I am taking a really long time to update, but I've been so busy ever since I started this new program in college. And now it's time for my finals. I don't even know how I found enough time to write this chapter, but here it is! I hope you enjoy this one, it's very special.**

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Chapter 21: A Series of Unexpected Events

It's already spring break. We all got back our grades and, even though we didn't all get the best marks, we still managed to pass everything. All of the girls are going back to their home planets to spend spring break there. I'm probably just going to stay here anyway, since there's nothing for me back in Dersus.

I get out of my bed and head out to downtown Magix. I need to go out for a bit and enjoy myself. I need to get my mind off of things.

I head to one of the more quiet cafes that no one really goes to. I don't feel like being around too many people. I go into the cafe, instantly welcomed by the strong and soothing coffee smell. It's a pretty shabby cafe for being located in downtown Magix where everything is over the top and extravagant. Somehow, though, I feel more comfortable here than in a more fancy cafe. There aren't many people here. Everyone just minds their own business, not paying attention to anyone else.

I make my way to a table in a corner after ordering a black coffee. I take out a book that I picked up from the restricted section of the Alfea library. The one that Palladium gave me access to… It's no good. My mind just keeps wandering back to him! I hold back the tears that threaten to come out. I shake my head and close my eyes. I sip my black coffee and frown since I burnt my lip a little. I sigh.

"You seem like there's something on your mind, miss."

The deep voice that came from behind me made me jump a little. I turn my head towards the source of the voice and find a very attractive man with tanned skin, blonde hair and striking grey eyes. He had a stubble that gave him a more mature aura. He's wearing a casual white dress shirt with a brown vest matching his brown pants. By habit, I don't look directly at him.

"N-No. I'm fine…"

It was already surprising to have someone talk to me out of the blue like that, especially here. What surprises me more, however, is that the man goes and takes a seat right across from me. What does he want?

"You're always alone, aren't you?"

Huh? How does he know that? I frown, speculating the worst. He then puts his hands in the air, looking like he's pleading innocence.

"Hey you don't have to frown like that, it's just that I'm a regular here and I always see you come here alone."

"Isn't that most people here, though?"

He chuckles.

"That is true. You got me there."

I don't know why, but something about this guy rubs me the wrong way. I put my book in my bag and start getting up to leave. As soon as I do, he gets up as well.

"Hey, where are you going? You didn't even finish your coffee."

"It's alright. I don't want it anymore. Now if you'll excuse me."

I leave the coffee shop and make sure that he isn't following me. I take a deep breath in relief when I realize that he stayed in the cafe. What was that all about? I guess I'll just stay away from this place from now on. I don't want to have to deal with him again.

What should I do now? I went there to spend a quite day, but it doesn't look like it's working out for me. I should just make my way back to Alfea.

When I get to Alfea I start heading straight to my room. On my way there however, my misfortunes don't see to end… I turn a corner and bump hard into someone and we both fall.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to…"

I look up and see Palladium on the floor. I feel my heart squeeze. The tears that I've been holding start rolling down my cheeks. I look down to try and hide them.

"Onyx! Are you alright?"

He gets up and extend a hand to me. In my anger and humiliation, I slap his hand away. I then quickly get up and run away. I run as far as I can. I just want to put as much distance between him and me.

"Onyx! Stop!"

What? He's running after me? Why? Leave me alone! I take a turn and keep running. I then see a wall. It's the end of the hallway. I was so frantic about getting away that I didn't notice! I glance behind me and find Palladium.

"Onyx, please… Don't do this to yourself."

I try to run past him but he gets a hold of my wrist and firmly keeps his grip on me.

"Let me go!"

Then, against all my expectations, he pulls me closer without a word and hugs me tightly. My tears keep falling and I start sobbing.

"It's not fair! I keep trying to forget you! Why are you making this harder?!"

My voice is half muffled in his chest.

"I don't know… I don't know what I'm doing anymore… I just can't stay away from you. Onyx, please forgive my selfishness."

What…? What is he saying? Has he gone mad? He tightens his grip on me. My chest is being crushed against his. It's almost hard to breathe.

"I don't think I can keep going without you. It's too painful. It hurts to see you in pain everyday, and it hurts to know that I'm the reason why you're hurt."

How am I supposed to react? I didn't expect this at all. I feel my body relax, and I stop resisting. His grip loosens and we both gaze into each other's eyes.

"Palladium… I… This is so hard-"

Before I could finish what I was saying, a feel a pair of warm quivering lips against my own. My eyes widen in surprise. What…? Is he… kissing me? I feel my stomach squeeze and my heartbeat getting faster. He then pulls away and looks into my eyes. His gaze is intense. I've never seen him look like that before. It makes my face get even warmer.

"I'm sorry, Onyx. I just can't resist you anymore."

He then pushes me gently against the wall brings his forehead to mine. We look into each others' eyes for a bit and then he smiles softly at me. I can't help but smile back. Then a wave of relief and happiness washes over me as I realize what was happening. Palladium… likes me back? He wants to be with me? How can someone that made me feel so much pain make me feel so much joy?

He kisses me again. This time, I close my eyes and wrap my arms around his neck. This is… the happiest moment of my life.

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 **Tell me what you thought in the reviews ;)**


	27. Secret Romance

**I was debating whether I should do a Palladium's thoughts chapter or just go on with the story, and I ended up just writing more of the story XD Next chapter will be a Palladium's thoughts. I hope you guys enjoy ;)**

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Chapter 22: Secret Romance

"Did something good happen?"

Stella asks me while smiling mischievously. I feel the blood run up to my cheeks.

"N-Nothing. I'm just in a good mood."

"You've been smiling the whole day. Not to mention your dream gaze as if you're not even here."

"Like I said: It's nothing."

I can't let anyone know about my relationship with Palladium. We both promised each other to keep it a secret, since it's not a very ethical thing for a teacher to date their student. I don't care. As long as I'm with him, I don't care what I have to do. Stella has been trying to pry it out of me, but, as long as I don't admit to anything, it shouldn't be a problem.

We all make our way to the indoor flying grounds. Today is the flying exam. I'm feeling pretty confident about this. If there's something I excel at, it's flying. I heard that the exam consists of an obstacle course that they change up to keep us on our toes.

We all go sit in the bleachers surrounding the arena. All the first years are here for this exam. The one in charge of it is Miss Faragonda herself. All of our teachers are there too. I spot Palladium sitting in the first row with all the teachers. Our group was directed to go sit right behind the teachers. I ended up sitting right behind Palladium. He turns around and gives me a gentle smile. I blush and smile back.

"Welcome, my dear students."

My attention shifts to Miss Faragonda, who was standing in the middle of the arena, facing all of us.

"Today I will personally evaluate your flying and reaction skills. This exam is very important in your growth as a fairy. And Ankelon."

She looks and me and winks. Even though I'm the only Ankelon, she still didn't forget to mention me. I'm actually kind of flattered by that. She goes on with her speech and finally starts calling out the first fairy who will be doing the exam. She gets a few teachers to help her set the obstacles by levitating them with magic. It basically looks like an obstacle course. The goal is to get the rose and bring it back to Miss Faragonda. Seems simple enough.

One after the other, the fairies that are called pass their test. Some exceptions end up losing control and falling to the ground, but none of them get hurt. Miss Faragonda sometimes materializes some surprise obstacles to test the reflexes of the one taking the exam. Musa, Tecna, Flora, Stella, and Bloom pass with flying colours. I wouldn't expect any less from them.

Bloom comes back to take her seat next to me.

"That was great, good job."

"Thanks, Onyx."

She sounds kind of down. I wonder what's wrong…

"Next is… Onyx!"

When I hear my name, I tense up a bit. Even though I'm extremely confident in my flying abilities, I can't help but feel nervous at being watched by so many people. The girls all give me thumbs up of encouragement. As I head down, Palladium wishes me good luck. That calms me down a bit.

"Alright then, please start by transforming."

I nod.

"By the power of light and darkness, transform!"

I'm then enveloped in a black sphere. My black angel wings emerge from my back, and my clothes transform into my black, sleeveless, short, corset dress. I hear some of the fairies hushed exclamations of surprise. It's probably the first time for a lot of them to see an Ankelon transform.

Miss Faragonda and some of the teachers levitate some hoops and moving walls. The hoops are not stationary either. I'm supposed to pass through each hoop and avoid the wall obstacles.

"You may begin."

As soon as Miss Faragonda says those words, I fly up, my wings causing a gust of wind stronger than fairy wings. At high speed, I go through the hoops, retracting my wings each time to fit through. After four hoops, I'm met with a wall that I easily go around. As soon as I do, though, projectiles are fired my way. Before even figuring out what they were, my body moves on its own and dodges them. They however come around and chase me. I see. I need to get rid of them, not just dodge them.

"Destruction Sphere!"

The small sphere leaves my hand and, as soon as it comes in contact with one of the projectiles, it enlarges and disintegrates all the others. I then fly to the rose and land in front of Faragonda in a matter of seconds.

"Well, I think we have a record time here! That was very impressive, Onyx. You pass with flying colours!"

I transform back and smile shyly.

"Thank you, Miss Faragonda."

I then go back to my seat next to my friends. They all congratulate me. I see Palladium smiling from the corner of my eye.

After the test ends, Bloom heads to Magix to meet up with Brandon. Stella says that she also has a date with her boyfriend Sky. Tecna is apparently meeting up with Timmy to talk about some "techy" things. I'm sure she actually wants to spend time with him. Musa decided to work on a new song and Flora is back to researching more about plants. They each have something to do.

I head to my room and lie down on my bed, sighing loudly. I then hear my phone buzzing. I take it out to see what it was.

"Oh!"

It's a message from Palladium!

 _Come to my office if you're free._

I giggle to myself. Whenever he wanted to see me and spend time alone with me, he'd always send me the same message. It happened quite often. I get up and make my way to Palladium's office. I knock on his door.

"Come in."

Hearing his voice makes my heart flutter. I turn the doorknob and go inside, closing the door behind me. As soon as I do, I feel myself being swept up in the air. Palladium carries me up by holding my waist.

"Palladium…!"

I giggle as he twirls me around.

"My beautiful Onyx!"

He then puts me down and hugs me tightly. I feel his breath on the back of my neck.

"You don't know how hard it is to control myself from holding you every time I see you."

He says softly in my ear. His breath sends pleasant shivers down my spine.

"I know… It is hard. But I don't care how hard it is, as long as I'm with you."

After I say that he pulls me tighter into the hug. It almost takes my breath away. He then kisses my neck.

"Hah!"

At my high pitched surprised moan, he chuckles.

"You're so cute!"

"You know that I'm sensitive there!"

He pulls aways and gives me a peck on the lips.

"That's why I do it."

I sigh and smile. This has been going on for a few weeks already. The only time we have together is the time we spend in his office when there are breaks between classes. If we did after or before classes start, it would be too suspicious, since we'd be missing the breakfast and supper. But it still doesn't matter. It's enough for me that we both love each other.

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 **Sooooo was it cute? Did you guys like the fluff at the end? Tell me what you thought in the reviews! :DD**


	28. Special Chapter 6: Palladium's Thoughts

**Another Palladium's Thoughts chapter! I didn't think I'd keep doing these, but I feel like it's a pretty good idea! And it was you guys that gave me that idea! Thank you so much for your support :D I never thought this story would get this big! More than 100 reviews and almost 100 followers! I can't thank all of you enough :)**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Side Note: I made some changes to Chapter 22: Stella's Counselling, since it seems that I never actually finished that chapter and posted it without reviewing it XD. Now it makes more sense. And it also will reappear in this chapter. If you feel a bit lost, just go back to that chapter and read the last bit if you want.**

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Special Chapter 6: Palladium's Thoughts

There's been so much going on with the tests and the sudden malfunction that I've barely had enough time to do anything else. And today I'm supposed to go take care of the plants in the garden. Good thing I'll have Flora there to help out. If it was Onyx, it'd be quite the challenge…

I catch myself smiling at the thought of her. No. This is not right. I bring my hands up to my face and sigh.

"Professor Palladium! Is something the matter? You look more worried than usual."

I look down to Professor Wizgiz who was passing up me in the hallway. I try to put on my best attempt at a smile.

"It's just that I feel very swamped with everything that's been happening."

"Yeah. It's not fun having that little accident happen during the test. That machine malfunctioned not once, but twice! It's just that second time was because of Onyx' magic being a bit too strong for it. Maybe we should build it to accommodate Ankelons from now on, haha…!"

I zoned out after that. When Professor Wizgiz starts talking, it's very hard for him to stop.

I head to the garden when Flora is already there. I smile, seeing my student working so diligently.

"I see you've already started without me."

Flora turns to me and smiles.

"I just couldn't help myself. There are so many rare and beautiful plants here."

We both then work together, checking the plants and making sure they're all healthy. I got to say, this is taking less time than usual. Flora really has a very special bond with plants. I see her looking after some plants a bit further away. I lose sight of her after that. That's fine. I trust she can handle things.

After working for a bit, I notice the plants becoming restless. Some of them started drying up really fast. What's happening here? I check them with my magic, trying to communicate with them, but it's as if… they're frightened. Maybe Flora would know something about this.

"Flora! The plants are acting strangely. Come see."

I wait for a bit and see her reappearing. I look back at the plants and see the life coming back to them.

"Yes, Professor Palladium?"

I tilt my head in confusion.

"Strange… The plants seem fine now. Just a few seconds ago, they were completely frightened."

"Oh… Actually I know why that happened."

I look up to her.

"Really? What happened?"

"Onyx was just here."

My eyes widen slightly as I come to the realization. She probably wanted to come see the garden, but realized that she couldn't because of her nature…

"It looks like she left right away, though."

"Yeah, she didn't seem like she was doing well. She's been feeling quite down lately."

Why? Is it because of me?

"You don't seem to be looking too good either, Professor. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Let's just get back to work…"

The whole time while we worked, I couldn't stop thinking about Onyx. I just hope she's not feeling too down. I wish I could see her… Hug her… Comfort her… But this is all just my selfishness. I just want to feel her body against my own. I want to keep her in my arms and share each other's warmth. But this is all wrong. I cannot fall in love with my student. After we finish up, I go back to my office and try to not think about her by drowning myself in paperwork…

It's already spring break. I was able to give back everyone's grades for my classes. Even though some failed, the average is pretty good for the class. This year sure does have some very promising students.

Now that the exams are done, I need to start preparing for the second half of the term. Most of the girls went back to their home world to spend the break there.

I stretch after having worked for so long on my desk. I get up and decide to get out of my office. Looking through the window, I realize that the sun is already setting. It still feels kind of odd to not have anyone in the school like that. Most of the teachers are either working or went back to their homes as well. It's quite peaceful I must say. As always, my mind wanders back to Onyx. I wonder what she decided to do with her break… While I'm lost in my thoughts, I turn around the corner and bump hard into someone and we both fall.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to…"

That voice…! I look up and see Onyx on the floor. She looks shocked to see me. Then I see tears falling down her cheeks but she immediately looks down to try and hide them. I feel my heart squeeze at the sight.

"Onyx! Are you alright?"

I get up and extend a hand to her. She then slaps my hand away. Onyx, please… Don't act this way… She then quickly gets up and runs away. I can't just leave her like this. I can't leave her. I can't bear to see her in so much pain. I run after her.

"Onyx! Stop!"

She takes a turn and I keep running after her. She comes up face to face with a wall. She then glances behind her and comes face to face with me. Her face is filled with so much sadness.

"Onyx, please… Don't do this to yourself."

She tries to run past me but I get a hold of her wrist and firmly keep my grip on her. I don't want to let her go anymore…

"Let me go!"

I then let my feelings take over. I pull her closer without a word and hug her tightly. I've been yearning for her warmth… It's over for me… I've completely fallen. I hear her sobbing in my arms.

"It's not fair! I keep trying to forget you! Why are you making this harder?!"

Her voice is half muffled in my chest.

"I don't know… I don't know what I'm doing anymore… I just can't stay away from you. Onyx, please forgive my selfishness."

I squeeze her tighter into my arms. I want to be closer to her. Her sweet scent intoxicates me.

"I don't think I can keep going without you. It's too painful. It hurts to see you in pain everyday, and it hurts to know that I'm the reason why you're hurt."

I feel her body relax in my arms, and she stops resisting my embrace. I loosen my grip to look into her eyes. She's so beautiful… I can't stop my desire for her anymore.

"Palladium… I… This is so hard-"

Before she could finish what she was saying, I crash my lips down on hers. This is the most amazing feeling… How could I resist you for so long? My heartbeat gets faster and I feel warmth envelop my whole body. Her lips are so soft… I then pull away and look into her eyes. Her face is flushed. She looks so adorable. I want her so much.

"I'm sorry, Onyx. I just can't resist you anymore."

I then push her gently against the wall bring my forehead to hers. We look into each others' eyes for a bit and then I smile softly at me. She looks so innocent and vulnerable from this angle. It makes me want to everything to keep her safe. She smiles back. A wave of happiness fills me. I love her so much…

I kiss her again. This time, she seems more prepared for it and wraps her arms around my neck. This is… the happiest moment of my life.

After the spring break ends, there's still the flying exam that the girls need to get through. Onyx spent her break with me, while also practicing for that exam. I don't think she even needs any practice, since she's already much better than fairies at flying. We also spent some time talking about our relationship. We agreed that it was for the best to keep it secret, since it might cost me my job and her reputation if people discovered about our teacher-student relationship. As long as I'm with her, I'm happy.

I make my way to the indoor flying grounds with all the other teachers. The girls are not here yet. I go sit in the bleachers surrounding the arena until everyone gets here. The first years will be sitting right behind the teachers. I finally see Onyx and her friends making their way to the bleachers. She ends up sitting right behind me. I can't help but smile after seeing her. I turn around and gives me a gentle smile. I see her blushing and she smiles back.

"Welcome, my dear students."

Everyone's attention shifts to Headmistress Faragonda, who was standing in the middle of the arena, facing all of us.

"Today I will personally evaluate your flying and reaction skills. This exam is very important in your growth as a fairy. And Ankelon."

She looks at Onyx and winks. One after the other, the fairies that are called pass their test. Some exceptions end up losing control and falling to the ground, but none of them get hurt. Headmistress Faragonda sometimes materializes some surprise obstacles to test the reflexes of the one taking the exam.

"Next is… Onyx!"

As she heads down, I wish her good luck. She looks a bit nervous.

"Alright then, please start by transforming."

She nods.

"By the power of light and darkness, transform!"

She's then enveloped in a black sphere. Even though I've seen her transform a few times already, it's still quite impressive. Such big black angel wings… She just looks so striking. I hear some of the fairies hushed exclamations of surprise. It's probably the first time for a lot of them to see an Ankelon transform.

Headmistress Faragonda and some of the teachers levitate some hoops and moving walls. The hoops are not stationary either. She's supposed to pass through each hoop and avoid the wall obstacles. Let's see how she does.

"You may begin."

As soon as Headmistress Faragonda says those words, Onyx flies up, her wings causing a gust of wind that reaches all the way to the bleachers, blowing my hair back. At high speed, she goes through the hoops, retracting her wings each time to fit through. After four hoops, she's met with a wall that she easily goes around. As soon as she does, projectiles are fired her way. I clench my fists, still a bit nervous for her. Her body moves gracefully as she avoids all of the projectiles. They however come around and chase her.

"Destruction Sphere!"

A small sphere leaves her hand and, as soon as it comes in contact with one of the projectiles, it enlarges and disintegrates all the others. She then flies to the rose and lands in front of Faragonda in a matter of seconds.

"Well, I think we have a record time here! That was very impressive, Onyx. You pass with flying colours!"

She transforms back and smiles shyly as we all applaud for her.

"Thank you, Miss Faragonda."

She then goes back to her seat next to her friends. They all congratulate her. I can't help but smile at her success.

After the test, I go back to my office. I work on some things, but soon I find myself thinking of Onyx. I pick up my phone and look up her contact number. Let's see… I should just be straightforward.

 _Come to my office if you're free._

I then wait impatiently for her arrival. At least, I hope she comes… I just really want to hold her. It's such an uncontrollable urge.

After a bit of time that seems like an eternity, I hear knock on my door. My heart almost leaps out of my chest. It's her! No, it might not be her, I can't be sure.

"Come in."

I make my way to the door as the doorknob turns. It is her… She closes the door behind her and as soon as she does, I lift her up in the air by her waist.

"Palladium…!"

She giggles as I twirl her around.

"My beautiful Onyx!"

I then put her down and hug her tightly. She always smells so nice…

"You don't know how hard it is to control myself from holding you every time I see you."

I say softly in her ear.

"I know… It is hard. But I don't care how hard it is, as long as I'm with you."

I hug her even tighter as she says that. I feel her breasts crushed on my chest. I burry my face in her thick black hair and then kiss her neck.

"Hah!"

I chuckle at her high pitched moan.

"You're so cute!"

"You know that I'm sensitive there!"

I pull away and give her a peck on the lips.

"That's why I do it."

She sighs and smiles. This has been going on for a few weeks already. The only time we have together is the time we spend in his office when there are breaks between classes. If we did after or before classes start, it would be too suspicious, since we'd be missing the breakfast and supper. I wish we had more time… I want to be closer to her. I want to be more intimate with her. I want her. My lovely Onyx.

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 **How was it? Do you like the contrast between their thoughts? I wanted Palladium to have a more mature approach to his feelings, wanting to go all the way and whatnot, compared with Onyx who's basically in her first serious relationship. There's also the whole big age difference between the two, but then again, they're both magical creatures so I feel like these norms don't apply to them like it would apply to humans.**

 **Tell me what you guys think in the reviews!**


	29. Sleepless Night

**Finally done with exams! Hopefully I will update more often from now on :D**

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Chapter 23: Sleepless Night

I get back to my room after spending more time in Palladium's office. If it was up to me, I'd stay there longer, but one of the students wanted to ask him about one of his classes. She did give us some weird looks, like she was suspecting something… Or maybe it's just my paranoia…

I take a deep breath to calm my beating heart before heading to my dorm room. The sun is setting outside. When I open the door to my room, I find Stella brushing her hair at her vanity.

"Oh! Onyx, you're back! Where were you?"

"Um… I was asking some questions to one of our teachers…"

I hope I didn't sound too suspicious… Stella seems to be eyeing. I try to avoid her eyes. I feel like she would be able to read me too easily if she looked into them.

"Really now… That teacher wouldn't happen to be professor Palladium by any chance?"

"Huh? No! It's not! Anyway, I'm a bit tired so I'm going to sleep!"

Oh no… I panicked… Now I look even more suspicious. I go to my bed and lie down there, covering my face with the sheets. I head Stella snicker. After a bit, she also goes to sleep. I can't seem to fall asleep, though. I get out of bed and head to the bathroom. On my way there, I spot Bloom quietly going out of the dorm. What is she doing out so late? I hope she's not going to get herself in trouble.

She's been acting really weird recently. She's been so down. I have a feeling it's about her origins. I feel like I should tell her, but Headmistress Faragonda told me not to say anything to keep Bloom safe. If the witches find out that she really does have the power of the dragon flame, they will target her with everything they have.

I go back to my room, feeling restless. After a few hours of tossing and turning around, I finally get up, frustrated from my lack of sleep.

To be honest with myself, I am worried about Bloom. I should go out and try to find her. But where do I even start looking? No, I shouldn't just wander around blindly. It's almost morning, anyway. I should wait until the girls wake up so that we could look for her together.

When morning came, Flora and Stella were the first to wake up.

"Good morning, Onyx…"

Stella says as she yawns.

"Good morning, Stella."

I haven't had a single hour of sleep. I'm starting to feel tired just thinking about it. After everyone wakes up, Flora starts asking if anyone's seen Bloom.

"That's what I wanted to talk to everyone about."

The girls all look at me, intrigued.

"Do you know something about it, Onyx?"

Tecna asks. I nod.

"Last night I saw her sneak out in the middle of the night. I have no idea where she could've gone, though."

"Wait, I'll ask Sky if he knows anything. Maybe her and Brandon went out on a late date or something."

Stella says as she takes out her phone. After a quick phone call, she comes back to us with a worried expression.

"Bloom and Brandon went to Cloud Tower last night. I don't know what happened between them, but it seems like, after they got out of there, Brandon dropped Bloom off at Alfea."

What? Cloud Tower? On her own? She could've asked me to come with her! She can be so reckless sometimes…

"We have to find her! She could be in danger if the witches find out she trespassed in Cloud Tower."

Musa retorts. We all agree and start taking action. Tecna uses her technology magic to locate Bloom's phone and we all head to the location indicated.

"It seems like she's somewhere in the forest, not too far from Alfea."

Tecna informs us.

"I guess she was on her way back but something stopped from doing so?"

Flora expresses her thoughts on the situation. After we get out of Alfea and out of sight, we transform to make our search easier.

"I'm sensing dark magic. It's getting stronger the more we travel towards Bloom's phone signal."

I tell everyone.

"Let's pick up the pace then!"

Stella says and hurries ahead. We all follow her closely, as to not get separated. We all then spot three silhouettes in the distance, shooting magic below.

"The witches!"

Stella exclaims and flies as fast as she can towards them. She then fires at them with her magic, disorienting them. We look down to where they were attacking, and find Bloom and someone else frozen in a block of ice that Stella didn't waste time in melting.

"You pesky little…!"

Icy screams at us. Stormy conjures tornadoes that come to envelop us. I easily slash through them after coating my arm with my own magic.

"The Ankelon is here too!"

Stormy exclaims.

"Damn it! We can't stay here, then!"

Darcy says to the other witches.

"Stop your whining. We can't just run away like cowards."

Icy reprimands her. The girl who was with Bloom then summons a big monster that screams violently and startles the witches, catching them off guard.

"That's it! I've had it with your meddling!"

Darcy then casts a spell on the girl, transforming her into a pumpkin. Damn it! I was too far to interfere! Well now they'll get it…

Before I could do anything, however, Bloom gets enveloped in the dragon flame, unleashing an incredible amount of power that sends the witches flying. She then falls to the ground, completely drained.

We all go back to Alfea, taking the girl with. Bloom tells us that her name is Mirta and that she's actually a witch. We get back and Flora takes Mirta with her in hopes of curing her state. Bloom then tells us everything that went on.

"After finding out that my parents back on Earth are not actually my birth parents, I had so many questions and insecurities about my powers and origins. I couldn't find anything here, so I thought I'd be able to find some useful information in the Cloud Tower archives. Brandon helped me out in getting there and infiltrating the school without getting spotted, but the three witches were somehow aware of me being there and trapped me into believing I was actually a reincarnation of the three Ancestral Witches. I couldn't come back knowing that I was a threat to you all… But thankfully, Mirta had overheard the three witches' plans and reassured me that I wasn't in fact the reincarnation of the three Ancestral Witches. And then we were attacked… And they did such a horrible thing to Mirta… I just feel like it's all my fault."

We all sigh.

"Don't say that sweetie. I'll try my best to cure her, I promise."

Flora reassures Bloom. It's a good thing Flora's here since I'm not really good at comforting people.

I'm having a bad migraine, though. It's probably because I didn't sleep at all last night. It's far from nightfall, though, and I still have a class to go to. Potionology will not go well if I'm not fully alert. I hope Palladium doesn't notice it. He'll probably get worried and tell me to go rest instead of staying in class. It would look like favouritism… And the other fairies will not shut up about it. Rumours will spread… I don't even want to think about it. I should just get there and try to be as invisible as possible.

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 **Tell me what you think of the story so far in the reviews!**


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